Reasoning by Analogy
Reasoning by Analogy uses the form 'A is to B as C is to ?'. Level C analogies use geometric figures; the first pair demonstrates a transformation, and you apply the same transformation to the third figure to choose the fourth.
Find the exact change
Ask what changed from A to B: size, color, fill, number of sides, position of an inner dot, rotation, or number of elements. If two changes occur, both must be applied. Then apply them to C, not to A.
Worked example
Top pair: a large red square with a blue dot in the upper-left corner becomes a large red square with a blue dot in the upper-right corner. The square keeps its size, color, and shape; only the dot reflects across the vertical midline. Bottom figure: a large blue triangle with a red dot in the lower-left corner. Applying the same left-right reflection puts the red dot in the lower-right corner. The answer keeps the triangle large and blue. A choice with the dot in the upper-right would be a rotation, not a reflection.
Traps
- Applying the change to the wrong figure or reversing it.
- Copying the first pair's colors onto the answer when the rule is positional.
- Missing a second change, such as size plus fill.
- Treating a 90-degree rotation as a mirror image.