Now that you’ve gone through the ways you can detect patterns in abstract reasoning, you’re now going to find out how to answer a different type of abstract reasoning question that is common in your exam.

Questions that are kind of in this structure:

In these questions, you’ll have to match the pattern in the first example with the second to find the answer. So… it’s different to others in that you aren’t looking at a sequence, but rather, you’re finding the pattern and the result and then using that to apply to find the missing image given a different source.

These types of questions also vary in the way they’re show.

They may ask you to find:

• Odd image out of a group.
• Express the source in letters.
• Results that come from using mathematical symbols e.g. addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, equals sign to show how the images are changing (this appeared in our expert’s exam).

Even with the different ways this particular question can be shown – the rules and patterns that you learnt about in the previous checkpoint will help you solve these questions.

In particular:

• Deducting images
• Adding images
• Determining odd images
• Making sure that all images or shapes have appeared or are not missing

However, there is also another technique that will also come in handy. This technique to solve the question is when an image is ‘superimposed’ on another.

This is when:

• A part of the image is drawn out which looks like it's its own image
• Then the other part of the full image is drawn out.
• Together if you superimpose them (there could be more than one), you'll get a full picture of what the image is supposed to be.

It's one which doesn't have an easily detected pattern and relies on you putting one image on top of another. The process itself is the pattern as it's the pattern of putting:

• One image on top of
• One image on top of…

There can be variations to the process of superimposition such as:

• Images not placed 1:1 ratio on top of each other
• Images placed which create a whole new image
• Images that may be placed which certain items or colours don't appear.

Let's look at some images to illustrate this concept:

Source: Wassily Kandinsky,Composition VIII, 1923.

Source: New Media

Now, let's go through some sample questions:

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Now it's time to do your assignment.

1. Download the assignment questions here.
2. Print it out or if you want to do it electronically, save it.
3. Complete the questions to it.
4. Then check the solutions on the video below. The answer key is also on the final page of your downloaded assignment questions.

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