Serial Reasoning
What Serial Reasoning asks
You see three to five frames in a sequence and choose the frame that comes next. Level G sequences usually change more than one attribute at once, and the attributes may change at different rates.
Tracking the sequence
Build a mental table with one row per attribute: shape, count, position, orientation, fill, and size. Compare frame 1 with frame 2 to get a candidate step, then check that the same step holds from 2 to 3 and from 3 to 4. If one interval breaks the rule, the sequence is probably alternating or cyclic rather than arithmetic. Look for rules such as “rotate 45° clockwise each step,” “add one element and move it one side clockwise,” or “fill alternates every second frame.” Eliminate any option that violates a single tracked rule.
Worked example
Frame 1 is a square with one dot at the top. Frame 2 has two dots at the right. Frame 3 has three dots at the bottom. Frame 4 has four dots at the left. The dot count rises by one each step, and the dot group moves 90° clockwise around the square. The next frame must have five dots at the top. An option with five dots at the right skipped a rotation; an option with four dots at the top failed to add a dot; an option with five dots at the top but the square itself rotated 45° introduces a change that never occurred in the sequence.
Traps
Do not generalize from the first two frames alone; a rule that fits one interval may fail the rest. Watch for alternating sequences in which odd and even frames follow separate rules. Also check the frame itself: a rotating inner shape can distract you from a stationary outer border, and an option that changes both is wrong.