How the Abstracte Matrix test works
Each item shows eight figures that look meaningless on their own, set out in a 3x3 grid with the bottom-right cell empty. The figures follow a rule that runs both across the rows and down the columns. You work out the rule and choose the ninth figure from eight options.
The test opens with two worked examples. Then the clock starts: 25 puzzles in 20 minutes, shown in the top right of the screen. You may skip a puzzle and return to it if time is left at the end. Only correct answers count and nothing is deducted for a wrong one.
LTP runs three versions at each job level (mbo, hbo and wo), so the puzzles you see depend on the role. The COTAN register lists the LTP Matrix at 40 items; the live versions in LTP’s portal have 25. Your number correct is compared with a norm group at the level the job requires.
How to solve a matrix puzzle
Work through the same steps on every puzzle:
- Read the top row and name what changes from cell to cell: shape, size, number of elements, position, rotation or shading.
- Check that the same change happens in the middle row. If nothing is clear across the rows, try down the columns.
- Look for a second rule running at the same time. Many puzzles combine one rule for shape and another for shading.
- If each row holds the same three values in a different order, the missing cell takes the value its row and column are still missing.
- Picture the missing figure, then find it among the eight options. Reject any option that breaks even one rule.
Worked example
Row one shows a white circle, a white square and a white triangle. Row two shows a grey square, a grey triangle and a grey circle. Row three shows a black triangle, a black circle and an empty cell.
Two rules run at once. Shading is fixed along each row and darkens down the grid, so the missing figure is black. Each row and each column holds one circle, one square and one triangle; the third column already has a triangle and a circle, so the missing figure is a square. The answer is a black square.
Tips for the real Matrix test
- Study the two worked examples before you press Start. You cannot return to the instructions once the test begins.
- With eight options, several will be near misses. Predict first so a half-found rule does not pull you to the wrong one.
- If a puzzle has not given up its rule after about a minute, mark your best guess, skip on and come back if time allows.
- Answer everything before time runs out. A blank and a wrong answer score the same.
- LTP’s free practice site has a short matrix test at mbo, hbo and wo level. Choose the level of the job you applied for.
Practise the Abstracte Matrix test on CogniPrep
Our version follows the live format: 25 puzzles with eight options on one 20-minute clock, from easier to harder, with skip, back and an overview of open items. The puzzles are generated fresh each sitting, so a replay is a new paper. You get your number correct and a 1 to 9 practice score against people practising here.