How the Spatial Reasoning test works
Every question is a picture with four options lettered A to D, on one 10-minute clock. TestGorilla does not publish the number of questions. Its sample set has one of each of four types:
- Rotation: a 3D object, and which of four drawings shows the same object from another angle.
- Folding: an unfolded box with printed faces, and which folded box it makes. Anything printed can be seen from both sides.
- Assembly: a set of flat pieces, and which of four outlines you can make using every piece, turning allowed, with no cutting, resizing or overlapping.
- Sequence: a row of figures, and which one comes next.
How to solve each spatial question type
Rule options out before you try to prove one right:
- Rotation: pick one distinctive part and follow it. If it always ends up on the wrong side, the option is a mirror image, not a turn.
- Folding: faces two apart in a straight strip end up opposite each other and can never be seen together. Use that to cross out options first, then check how the remaining faces meet.
- Assembly: start with the largest or oddest piece. Any outline it cannot fit into is out.
- Sequence: name one change at a time (rotation, shading, number of parts) and predict the next figure before you look at the options.
Worked example
A net has four squares in a column, from top to bottom a star, a heart, a circle and a triangle, plus a cross on the square to the left of the heart and a diamond on the square to its right. Which cube could it fold into? (a) star, circle and heart showing. (b) cross, diamond and star. (c) heart, triangle and cross. (d) star, heart and diamond.
Find the opposite pairs first. In the column, star and circle are two apart, so they end up opposite; so do heart and triangle. The two squares either side of the heart, cross and diamond, are opposite as well. That rules out (a), (b) and (c), which each show an opposite pair. The answer is (d): with the heart at the front, the star folds up to the top and the diamond round to the right, and all three meet at one corner.
Tips for the real Spatial Reasoning test
- Sketch nets on paper. TestGorilla allows pen and paper, and a quick drawing beats folding in your head under time pressure.
- One impossible feature is enough to reject an option, so look for it before checking everything else.
- In rotation questions, expect a mirror image among the options. It is the most common wrong answer.
- The number of questions is not published, so read the counter on the first screen and set your pace from it.
- Guess and move on when a figure will not come. A skip is marked wrong and there is no way back.
Practise Spatial Reasoning on CogniPrep
Ours has 12 questions in 10 minutes, three of each type, four options each, generated fresh every sitting. The count of 12 is ours, as TestGorilla does not publish one. Our objects are line drawings of solids made of cubes, and each face of our nets carries a symbol that looks the same whichever way it turns, so our net questions test which faces meet, not which way a symbol points. One question per screen, no going back, then a raw percentage, a percentile against CogniPrep players and feedback on each type.