ADF - Australian Defence Force Abstract Reasoning Puzzles Questions and Answers

Question 1

Observe the sequence of figures. Which of the answer figures would be the next logical step in the series?

Accepted Answer

A figure with a large black square and a small white circle inside.

Answer

There are two alternating patterns. The large outer shape alternates between a white square and a black square. The next in the sequence should be a black square. The small inner shape alternates between a black circle and a white circle. The next in the sequence should be a white circle. Therefore, the correct answer is a large black square with a small white circle inside.

Question 2

Five squares are presented. Four of them are alike in some way. Which of the squares is the odd one out?

Accepted Answer

A square containing a triangle pointing right.

Answer

The rule is that the triangle rotates 90 degrees counter-clockwise with each step. The sequence is up, left, down. Following this rotation, the next should be pointing right. However, one of the options breaks this established pattern of rotation. The option with the triangle pointing right is the correct continuation of the sequence, making the one that doesn't fit the 'odd one out'. Assuming the sequence starts with 'up', then 'left', then 'down', the one pointing 'right' would be next. The question asks which is different. If we establish a rule of counter-clockwise rotation, the one that breaks the sequence is the odd one out. Let's assume the established pattern is a 90-degree counter-clockwise turn. If we have up, left, and down, the one pointing right is out of sequence if the pattern resets or has a different logic.

Question 3

A 3x3 grid contains various shapes. The bottom right square is empty. Based on the patterns in the rows and columns, what should the missing shape be?

Accepted Answer

A small circle.

Answer

In each row and column, there are three shapes: a square, a triangle, and a circle. Also, in each row and column, there are three sizes: small, medium, and large. The first row has a large square, a medium triangle, and a small circle. The second row has a small triangle, a large circle, and a medium square. The third row has a medium circle and a small square. To complete the set for the third row and the third column, the missing shape must be a small circle.

Question 4

Consider the following series of boxes, each containing a line and a dot. Which box logically comes next in the sequence?

Accepted Answer

A box with a horizontal line and the dot below it.

Answer

The line inside the box rotates 45 degrees clockwise at each step. The sequence is: horizontal, diagonal (top-left to bottom-right), vertical, diagonal (top-right to bottom-left). The next step would be a horizontal line. The dot alternates its position from being above/left of the line to below/right of the line. In the last step shown (diagonal top-right to bottom-left), the dot is to the left. Therefore, in the next step, the dot should be below the horizontal line.

Question 5

Which of the following figures does not belong with the others based on a common rule?

Accepted Answer

A square with three dots inside.

Answer

The rule is that the number of dots inside the shape is equal to the number of sides of the shape. A triangle has 3 sides and 3 dots. A pentagon has 5 sides and 5 dots. A hexagon has 6 sides and 6 dots. The square has 4 sides, but it contains only 3 dots, which breaks the pattern.

ADF - Australian Defence Force Practice Test

ADF - Australian Defence Force Practice Test

ADF - Australian Defence Force Abstract Reasoning Puzzles Questions and Answers