6 types of reasoning puzzles, with examples
Brain-teaser tests usually mix several kinds of thinking. Ndovia IQ Brain Quiz uses six domains. Here is what each one tests, with a real example from the app. Try each one before you open the answer.
1. Spatial Matrix
Picturing shapes in your head: rotating, folding and counting in three dimensions.
A cube is painted on every face, then cut into 27 equal smaller cubes (3 × 3 × 3). How many small cubes have paint on exactly two faces?
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12. Cubes with exactly two painted faces sit on the edges of the big cube, but not at the corners. A cube has 12 edges, with one such cube on each.
2. Logical Synthesis
Spotting patterns and drawing conclusions that must be true.
What comes next? Z, X, U, Q, ?
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L. The steps back through the alphabet grow by one each time: −2, −3, −4, −5. Q minus 5 is L.
3. Working Memory
Holding information in mind for a few seconds and using it. In the app you see a short sequence, it disappears, and then you answer a question about it, for example which item came third.
4. Fluid Agility
Working out a new rule you’ve never seen before: codes, balance scales and step-by-step rules.
Three identical bags and a 2 kg weight balance one of the same bags and a 10 kg weight. How heavy is one bag?
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4 kg. Take one bag off each side: two bags and 2 kg balance 10 kg, so two bags weigh 8 kg and one weighs 4 kg.
5. Verbal Precision
Word meanings, analogies and odd-one-out questions.
Cartographer is to maps as lexicographer is to ___?
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Dictionaries. A cartographer makes maps; a lexicographer writes dictionaries.
6. Quantitative Logic
Number sequences and everyday arithmetic patterns.
A price rises by 10%, then the new price falls by 10%. Compared with the original, is the final price the same, 1% lower, or 1% higher?
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1% lower. Start at 100: up 10% is 110, then down 10% of 110 is 99.
Why mix them?
Most people are stronger in some domains than others. Mixing all six gives a more rounded result than one kind of puzzle alone. To understand what the overall number means, read What is a good IQ score?
Try it yourself: Ndovia IQ Brain Quiz is a free 24-question brain challenge across six domains, with a new mix of puzzles every time.
