Figure sequences is one of the three core-module subtests. You are shown a series of figures that change from one to the next, and you choose the one that continues the series.
Name the dimensions before you look at the options. Almost every sequence of this kind changes along a small number of independent dimensions at once. The usual suspects:
- rotation — a fixed number of degrees each step, and watch the direction
- count — dots, sides, lines increasing or decreasing by a constant
- position — an element moving round the frame, often one position per step
- shading or fill — alternating, or cycling through three states
- addition and removal — something appears every second frame, something else vanishes
- reflection — a flip, which looks like a rotation until you find a detail that a rotation would not have moved
The discipline is to go frame to frame and write down what changed, one dimension at a time, before you go anywhere near the answers. Students who look at the options first get anchored on a picture that looks right and stop reasoning.
Two dimensions is the normal difficulty. One-dimension items are warm-ups. The real items move two or three things at once and the trap answer gets two of them right. Check every dimension you identified against the option you have chosen — the wrong answer usually fails on the one you found last.
When you cannot see it, count. If nothing obvious changes, count something: sides, dots, intersections, enclosed areas. A sequence that defeats visual inspection often gives its rule up as a number series the moment you count.
Eliminate, do not select. With single-choice items and no time to spare, crossing out the two options that break a rule you are sure of is faster and safer than hunting for the one that fits every rule.