CCAT - Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Spatial Reasoning: Series Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A series of figures shows a square. In the first figure, a small black circle is in the top-left corner. In the second figure, the circle is in the top-right corner. In the third figure, the circle is in the bottom-right corner. Which figure logically comes next in the series?
- A square with the circle in the top-center.
- A square with the circle in the bottom-left corner. (Correct answer)
- A square with the circle back in the top-left corner.
- A square with two circles in the bottom corners.
Correct answer: A square with the circle in the bottom-left corner.
The pattern involves the black circle moving 90 degrees clockwise around the corners of the square with each step. The sequence is top-left, top-right, bottom-right. The next logical position is the bottom-left corner.
Question 2: Consider a sequence of figures. The first figure is a triangle (3 sides). The second is a square (4 sides). The third is a pentagon (5 sides). Which figure is next in the sequence?
- A hexagon (6 sides). (Correct answer)
- An octagon (8 sides).
- A circle.
- A triangle with a dot inside.
Correct answer: A hexagon (6 sides).
The pattern is a simple arithmetic progression of the number of sides of the polygon. Each subsequent figure has one more side than the previous one (3, 4, 5, ...). The next figure must have 6 sides, which is a hexagon.
Question 3: A sequence of figures is presented within a 3x3 grid. In figure 1, the top row is shaded black. In figure 2, the middle row is shaded black. In figure 3, the bottom row is shaded black. What is the next logical figure in this series?
- A grid where the left column is shaded black.
- A grid where the right column is shaded black.
- A grid where all cells are shaded black.
- A grid where the top row is shaded black again. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A grid where the top row is shaded black again.
The pattern shows a shaded row moving downwards from top to bottom. After the shaded row reaches the bottom, the pattern cycles back to the beginning. Therefore, the next figure will have the top row shaded again.
Question 4: Look at this series of figures. The first figure is a large upright arrow. The second is a large upright arrow with horizontal stripes. The third is a large arrow pointing to the right. The fourth is a large arrow pointing to the right with horizontal stripes. Which figure should come next?
- A large arrow pointing down with horizontal stripes.
- A large arrow pointing up without stripes.
- A large arrow pointing down without stripes. (Correct answer)
- A large arrow pointing left with horizontal stripes.
Correct answer: A large arrow pointing down without stripes.
This series has two independent patterns. First, the arrow rotates 90 degrees clockwise with each step (Up -> Right -> Down). Second, the fill of the arrow alternates between solid and striped. Since the fourth figure is striped, the fifth figure must be solid. Combining these rules, the next figure is a solid arrow pointing down.
Question 5: A figure contains a large circle with a smaller square inside it. In the first step, the square is black. In the second step, the square is white. In the third step, the large shape is now a square with a smaller circle inside it, and the inner circle is black. Which figure logically follows?
- A large square with a smaller white circle inside. (Correct answer)
- A large circle with a smaller black circle inside.
- A large square with a smaller black square inside.
- A large circle with a smaller white square inside.
Correct answer: A large square with a smaller white circle inside.
The pattern consists of two parts that repeat every two steps. First, the inner shape's color alternates between black and white. Second, after two steps, the large and small shapes swap their identities (circle/square becomes square/circle). The third step introduced a large square and a small black circle. Therefore, the fourth step must maintain the large square/small circle configuration but change the inner shape's color to white.
Question 6: A series of figures starts with a single vertical line. The second figure shows two lines forming a right angle ('L' shape). The third figure shows three lines forming an open square ('U' shape). What is the next figure in this series?
- A complete square formed by four lines. (Correct answer)
- A five-sided open figure.
- A triangle formed by three lines.
- Two separate vertical lines.
Correct answer: A complete square formed by four lines.
This is a constructive series where one line segment is added in a logical sequence with each step to build a larger shape. The sequence is building a square. After the 'U' shape formed by three lines, the next logical step is to add the fourth line to complete the square.
