NNAT3 Level A key terms

A repeated arrangement of shapes, colors, or features that follows a rule. Spotting the rule lets you predict what comes next or what is missing.

The empty or covered part of a picture that you must fill in. The correct choice completes the design so it looks whole and consistent.

Choosing the option that finishes a partly shown design. You compare lines, colors, and shapes at the edges of the gap to find the matching piece.

The way lines and shapes flow smoothly across a picture without breaking or shifting. A correct missing piece keeps lines lined up with the rest of the design.

A design quality where one half mirrors the other across a line or around a point. Symmetric patterns help you predict the hidden side of a picture.

An imaginary straight line that divides a shape into two halves that match exactly when folded. Designs often repeat across such a line.

A grid of pictures arranged in rows and columns that follow a shared rule. One cell is empty and you pick the option that fits the rule.

A horizontal line of pictures in a grid, read left to right. Changes across a row often reveal the rule for the whole puzzle.

A vertical line of pictures in a grid, read top to bottom. Patterns down a column can confirm or correct what you noticed in the rows.

A comparison stated as A is to B as C is to D. The same relationship links the first pair and the second pair.

The connection between two pictures, such as size change, rotation, color swap, or added part. Naming the relationship is the key step in analogy puzzles.

Two pictures presented together that show a change or link. In analogy items the first pair sets the example the second pair must follow.

A change applied to a shape, such as turning, flipping, growing, shrinking, or recoloring. Identifying the transformation explains how one picture becomes another.

Turning a shape around a fixed point, like the hands of a clock. The shape keeps its size and form but faces a new direction.

Flipping a shape over a line so it faces the opposite way, like a mirror. The flipped shape is not the same as a rotated one.

The picture you see when a shape is flipped across a line. Left and right swap, but top and bottom stay in place.

Making a shape larger or smaller while keeping its proportions the same. A scaled shape looks like a zoomed-in or zoomed-out copy.

A pattern in which shapes grow or shrink step by step. The change is usually steady, such as adding one unit each time.

A series of pictures that change in an ordered way. Your job is to find the step-by-step rule and choose what comes next.

The direction and pace of change in a series, such as growing by one side each step. Naming the progression lets you extend the pattern.

Solving puzzles where a series of pictures follows a rule and you pick the next or missing one. It relies on spotting how each step changes.

The hidden instruction that decides how pictures in a puzzle relate. Every correct answer follows the rule, and wrong choices break it.

The same shape, color, or feature appearing again and again. Repeated elements make patterns easier to predict.

A pattern that switches back and forth between two features, such as red, blue, red, blue. The next item returns to the earlier feature.

The skill of picturing shapes in your mind and imagining how they move, turn, fold, or fit together. It is used when shapes are combined or taken apart.

Imagining how a shape would look after being turned, without physically moving it. Practice helps you compare a shape with its turned version quickly.

Joining two or more shapes to form one picture. The combined figure contains all the parts, sometimes overlapping.

Breaking a whole picture into the smaller shapes that make it up. It is the reverse of combining parts into one figure.

When one shape covers part of another. The hidden part must be inferred from what remains visible.

A shape being partly blocked from view by something in front of it. You judge the hidden shape by its visible edges and outline.

The link between a piece and the complete figure it belongs to. Questions may show a whole and ask for one part, or the reverse.

The correct lining up of edges, corners, or lines between a piece and the surrounding design. Misaligned choices are usually wrong.

A feature of a shape that can change or stay the same, such as color, size, number of sides, or position. Tracking attributes reveals the pattern.

The outline or form of a figure, such as a circle, square, or triangle. Shape is one of the main features that patterns change.

How large or small a shape appears. Patterns often make shapes grow or shrink in a steady order.

Where a shape sits in a picture or grid, such as top left or center. Shapes may move step by step to new positions.

The hue of a shape, such as red, blue, or yellow. Color swaps are a common way patterns change from one picture to the next.

How many of something appear, such as the count of sides, dots, or shapes. Counting is often the fastest way to find a pattern.

A wrong answer choice designed to look tempting. It usually matches part of the pattern but breaks the rule in one detail.

Ruling out answer choices that clearly break the pattern. Removing wrong options narrows the field and raises your chance of choosing correctly.

A way to describe turning, either clockwise (like clock hands) or counterclockwise (the opposite way). It helps you state how a shape rotates.

The relative balance of a shape's parts, such as the ratio of height to width. A scaled copy keeps the same proportions.