Serial Reasoning
Serial Reasoning asks you to continue a sequence or fill a missing cell in a matrix. The figures change step by step according to one or more rules. On NNAT3 Level E, the sequence may be a row of four or five figures, or a 3×3 grid in which each row and column follows a pattern.
Track one feature at a time
Break each figure into features: outer shape, number of inner shapes, orientation, position, fill, and size. Follow each feature across the series separately. A square may rotate 45° clockwise each step while a dot moves one corner clockwise each step. Do not try to solve the whole figure at once; solve each feature, then combine.
Find the step, not just the direction
Ask "how much" as well as "which way." Rotation may be 45° or 90°; a shape may gain one side each step; a dot may move one position or two. In a matrix, check whether the rule runs left-to-right across rows, top-to-bottom down columns, or both. Sometimes the third row is a combination of the first two.
Worked example
A row shows: a black triangle pointing up; the same triangle rotated 90° clockwise (pointing right) with one small white dot; pointing down with two dots; pointing left with three dots. Two rules are running: rotate 90° clockwise each step, and add one dot each step. The next figure must point up again (after 270°, the next 90° brings it to 360°/0°) and carry four dots. An option pointing up with three dots continues the rotation but not the count; an option pointing right with four dots continues the count but not the rotation.
Traps
- Assuming a constant step when the sequence alternates or accelerates.
- Continuing only the most visible feature and ignoring a second rule.
- Missing a reset: a pattern of five positions may return to the start after five steps.
- In a matrix, applying the row rule to a column.