NNAT - Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test — Questions and Answers

Question 1: In a row where each shape gains one additional side moving right, the leftmost shape is a triangle (3 sides). What is the shape in the 5th column?

Octagon (8 sides)
Hexagon (6 sides)
Pentagon (5 sides)
Heptagon (7 sides) (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Heptagon (7 sides)

Starting at 3 sides and adding 1 per column: col 1=3, col 2=4, col 3=5, col 4=6, col 5=7 — a heptagon.

Question 2: A rectangle has a length of 4 units and a width of 3 units. What is its perimeter?

12 units
7 units
10 units
14 units (Correct answer)

Correct answer: 14 units

Perimeter = 2 × (length + width) = 2 × (4 + 3) = 2 × 7 = 14 units.

Question 3: A serial pattern alternates: 1 shape, 1 shape with a line through it, 2 shapes, 2 shapes with a line, ___. What appears next?

3 shapes with a line
1 shape
3 shapes (Correct answer)
2 shapes with two lines

Correct answer: 3 shapes

Each plain/crossed pair increases the count by 1, so the next plain group contains 3 shapes.

Question 4: In an analogy, a solid black square is paired with an outline (unfilled) square. Which attribute is being transformed?

Number of sides
Rotation
Size
Fill or shading (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Fill or shading

The transformation changes the fill from solid to unfilled, which is a shading attribute.

Question 5: Each frame in a serial pattern shows the same shape shrinking by one size step. Frame 1 shows a large circle, frame 2 shows a medium circle. What does frame 4 show?

A medium circle
A large circle
A tiny square
An extra-small circle (Correct answer)

Correct answer: An extra-small circle

Each frame reduces the size by one step: large → medium → small → extra-small, so frame 4 is extra-small.

Question 6: An NNAT analogy shows a square becoming a circle (shape changes) while also getting smaller (size changes). The second pair starts with a triangle. What does the corresponding figure look like?

A smaller triangle
A smaller circle (Correct answer)
A larger circle
A larger triangle

Correct answer: A smaller circle

Both transformations apply: the shape changes to a circle and the size decreases, giving a smaller circle.

Question 7: A square paper is folded in half and a triangle is cut from the fold. What appears when unfolded?

A circle
Two separate triangles
A triangle on one side
A diamond or rhombus shape (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A diamond or rhombus shape

Cutting from the fold creates a symmetrical shape when unfolded.

Question 8: A design shows a 2×2 grid where only the top-right and bottom-left cells are filled. Which pattern does this create?

A vertical pair
All four filled
A horizontal pair
A diagonal pair (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A diagonal pair

Top-right and bottom-left cells form a diagonal pattern across the grid.

Question 9: A matrix shows shapes that are reflected horizontally as you move right across a row. A right-pointing arrow is in column 1. What does column 3 show after two horizontal reflections?

an up-pointing arrow
a left-pointing arrow
a right-pointing arrow (Correct answer)
a down-pointing arrow

Correct answer: a right-pointing arrow

Two horizontal reflections cancel each other out, returning the arrow to its original right-pointing direction.

Question 10: In an analogy involving a 180° rotation, a shape pointing toward the upper-left would point toward which direction after the transformation?

Lower-right (Correct answer)
Upper-right
Lower-left
Upper-left

Correct answer: Lower-right

A 180° rotation moves a shape to the completely opposite direction, so upper-left becomes lower-right.

Question 11: In a 3x3 matrix with one cell missing, what is the first step?

Analyze patterns across rows and down columns (Correct answer)
Choose the most colorful option
Look only at neighbors
Start with answer choices

Correct answer: Analyze patterns across rows and down columns

Matrix problems require identifying rules in both row and column directions.

Question 12: For a Reasoning by Analogy question on the NNAT, what is the most important thing to identify first?

The total number of shapes displayed in the entire matrix
The color of all shapes in the matrix
The specific transformation—such as rotation, reflection, or size change—that links the first pair of shapes (Correct answer)
The size of the answer choices relative to the grid cells

Correct answer: The specific transformation—such as rotation, reflection, or size change—that links the first pair of shapes

Identifying the transformation rule from the first pair lets you apply it correctly to find the missing shape.

Question 13: A drawing shows a house with a chimney on the right side. In its reflection across a vertical mirror, where is the chimney?

It disappears
Left side (Correct answer)
Top center
Right side

Correct answer: Left side

A vertical reflection swaps left and right, moving the chimney from the right side to the left side.

Question 14: In a 3×3 matrix, the cell at row 3, column 2 is determined by the row's shape type and the column's fill color. Row 3 uses triangles; column 2 uses gray fill. What is in that cell?

Black square
Gray triangle (Correct answer)
Gray square
White circle

Correct answer: Gray triangle

Row 3 = triangle shape, column 2 = gray fill, so the cell contains a gray triangle.

Question 15: A row starts with triangle, then square. What should the missing third cell contain?

Triangle
Pentagon (5 sides) (Correct answer)
Circle
Hexagon

Correct answer: Pentagon (5 sides)

The row adds one side: 3, 4, 5.

Question 16: Three figures each show an arrow pointing to the upper-right. Which answer belongs to this group?

An arrow pointing to the lower-left
An arrow pointing to the upper-right (Correct answer)
An arrow pointing downward
An arrow pointing left

Correct answer: An arrow pointing to the upper-right

Direction is the sole classifying property, so only an upper-right-pointing arrow fits.

Question 17: In a pattern matrix, shapes in the left column are white, shapes in the middle column are gray, and shapes in the right column are black. A triangle appears in the left and middle columns. What belongs in the right column?

Gray circle
White triangle
Black square
Black triangle (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Black triangle

The shape (triangle) stays the same across the row, but the fill darkens from left to right, giving a black triangle.

Question 18: On the NNAT Level B, which question type asks students to find the missing piece that completes a design inside a rectangle?

Reasoning by Analogy
Spatial Visualization
Serial Reasoning
Pattern Completion (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Pattern Completion

Pattern Completion items show a design with a missing section inside a rectangle; students choose the piece that fills the gap.

Question 19: Three figures each show a shape containing exactly two different geometric figures inside it. Which answer fits?

An empty shape
A shape containing two geometric figures inside (Correct answer)
A shape containing one geometric figure inside
A shape containing three geometric figures inside

Correct answer: A shape containing two geometric figures inside

Exactly two interior figures is the rule — one fewer or one more disqualifies the choice.

Question 20: Three figures are each a shaded shape whose number of sides is a multiple of three. Which answer belongs?

A shaded pentagon (5 sides)
An unshaded hexagon (6 sides)
A shaded nonagon (9 sides) (Correct answer)
A shaded square (4 sides)

Correct answer: A shaded nonagon (9 sides)

Nine is a multiple of three (3×3) and the shape is shaded, satisfying both conditions.

Question 21: What is the term for a figure that looks the same on both sides of a dividing line?

Similar
Congruent
Symmetric (Correct answer)
Parallel

Correct answer: Symmetric

A figure is symmetric when a line (the line of symmetry) divides it into two mirror-image halves.

Question 22: Shapes progressively add sides: triangle, square, pentagon. What comes next?

Hexagon (6 sides) (Correct answer)
Octagon
Triangle
Circle

Correct answer: Hexagon (6 sides)

Each shape adds one side: 3, 4, 5, so next is 6 sides.

Question 23: Three figures contain 2 internal shapes, one contains 3. What is the classifying attribute?

Background color
Number of internal elements (Correct answer)
Type of shapes
Size of figures

Correct answer: Number of internal elements

The classification is based on counting internal elements.

Question 24: Two mirror images of an asymmetric shape are placed side by side. Which statement is true?

One is larger than the other
They share the same orientation
They are identical
They cannot be rotated to match each other (Correct answer)

Correct answer: They cannot be rotated to match each other

Mirror images of asymmetric shapes are non-superimposable; no rotation can make them match.

Question 25: A matrix rule states that the shape in each cell combines all shapes from the two cells directly above it. A circle-square cell and a square-triangle cell are above the bottom cell. What does the bottom cell show?

a circle-triangle overlap
a circle-square-triangle overlap (Correct answer)
a square only
a circle only

Correct answer: a circle-square-triangle overlap

Combining a circle-square overlap with a square-triangle overlap produces a shape containing all three: circle, square, and triangle.

Question 26: What do you call two lines in the same plane that never intersect, no matter how far they extend?

Parallel (Correct answer)
Perpendicular
Diagonal
Intersecting

Correct answer: Parallel

Parallel lines maintain the same distance apart and never meet, unlike intersecting or perpendicular lines.

Question 27: A right-pointing arrow rotates 90° counterclockwise at each step. Starting at step 1 pointing right, which direction does it point at step 3?

Left (Correct answer)
Down
Up
Right

Correct answer: Left

Right → up (step 2) → left (step 3), so at step 3 the arrow points left.

Question 28: Three figures are all large, dark-shaded triangles. Which answer choice belongs to the same group?

A large, dark-shaded triangle (Correct answer)
A small, unshaded triangle
A medium, striped triangle
A large, dark-shaded circle

Correct answer: A large, dark-shaded triangle

The group shares three traits — large size, dark shading, and triangular shape — so the correct figure must match all three.

Question 29: Each shape in a row has one more dot inside it than the shape before it. The first shape has 0 dots and the second has 1 dot. How many dots does the fourth shape have?

5
3 (Correct answer)
2
4

Correct answer: 3

The count increases by 1 per shape: 0, 1, 2, 3 — so the fourth shape has 3 dots.

Question 30: A sequence shows shapes losing one side at each step: pentagon (5), square (4), triangle (3), ___. What shape logically comes next?

A circle
A line segment (2 sides) (Correct answer)
A hexagon
A pentagon

Correct answer: A line segment (2 sides)

Each step removes one side, so after triangle (3) comes a 2-sided figure: a line segment.

Question 31: What number comes next? 2, 4, 8, 16, __

20
32 (Correct answer)
18
24

Correct answer: 32

Each number is doubled, so 16 × 2 = 32.

NNAT - Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test

The NNAT (Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test) is a nonverbal measure of general ability used to identify gifted and talented students in grades K–12. It uses geometric shapes and figures to assess reasoning and problem-solving skills independent of language and cultural background.

Questions

20 min

Time Limit

70%

To Pass

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