Non Verbal Reasoning : Like Shapes (Type 1)

The Like Shapes question type requires you to select an answer for the shape on the right side of the vertical line or 2 dots based on the relationship / rule formed by the shapes on the left side.

On the left side of the vertical line or 2 dots you will see one shape which has been transformed into another shape. It is up to you to decide how the shape has transformed based on what you see.

This will be the basis of your rule which you will apply to the right side.

In general shape transformations commonly happen in the following ways:

• Shape is rotated
• Shape is reflected
• Shape is flipped
• Shape size is increased
• Shape size is decreased
• Shape and / or colour is inverted
• Shape is moved in one direction or the other
• A shape is added to the original shape
• Shape position has been changed

Remember, as mentioned, these are the most common ways, but they aren’t the only ways a shape can be transformed.

Moving on, on the right side you will have 1 shape followed by an arrow and then 4 or 5 other shapes. The 4 to 5 shapes after the arrow are the options that you have to your answer select from.

After working out the rule for how the original shapes transform (on the left) you can then apply that rule to the shape on the right hand side and decide what it will look like after the rule has been applied.

It is important for you to be able to visualise the transformation and then select the option which best represents this – it will be your answer.

Similar to other rule based question types you have to approach this question type with the following broad steps:

1. Establish a rule or set of rules
2. Apply a rule or set of rules

Now although this may seem simple, the different ways and possibilities a shape may be changed does start to make it complex. So you really do need to pair these steps with a number of skills to help you decipher and work out the right answer. This question type really tests the following skills:

• Ability to recognise and identify a change in an existing example
• Ability to eliminate based on what doesn’t change
• Ability to recognise changes in a visual format e.g. shapes and colours
• Rule creation based on the changes that are present
• Ability to quickly review the details and specifics rather than just the most obvious
• Ability to visualise and apply a rule and predict an outcome
• Ability to eliminate options based on whether they are consistent with a rule or not

As this is non verbal it heavily relies on your visual skills plus your ability to critically analyse and think based on the information being provided to you.

Mentally you need to be able to visual how a shape can possibly change as you don’t have the time to draw it out.

Not only are you being expected to take in new information, you have to cross-compare the information in order to figure out how that shape is changed from one to another. Ask yourself:

• What are the key changes or things that stayed the same?
• What shapes have changed or been added and how?
• What colours have changed or been added and how?
• Is there more than one change happening?

This question type is very easy when the changes are big and broad e.g. a shape is rotated 90 deg. However, once changes in shapes start to become more specific, especially when there are multiple changes or the options start to look similar – it is the attention to detail which will allow you to work out the rule and finally the answer.

What does the Like Shapes question type look like?

As you can see from the Gaggle example below, the Like Shapes question type is in the following format:

• Instructions with an example of an answered question
• Set of questions
• Original transformation on the left of a vertical line or 2 dots
• Shape to be transformed on the right side of the vertical line or 2 dots
• 4 to 5 options to select your answer from based on how you think the shape on the right will transform
• 1 mark per question

How do I answer this question?

To answer this question type it is vital for you to first build your shape transformation skills. What this means is that you are able to build the mental ability to visually recognise how one thing changes to another and what specific things have change. You also have to note what things don’t change to help you filter down your answer.

The method or set of changes then become your rules which you can then begin to apply to other shapes.

It is important to routinely practise looking at shapes, size, movement and colour as these generally are the core things that tend to change in these question types. You need to be comfortable in breaking down how things change individually and also together as in some questions 1 thing will change whilst in others it will be 3 or 4 things.

For example if a triangle was to double in size and change to grey then you know that the next shape needs to double in size and change in colour. Being able to systematically identify and understand change will make it easier for you to get to your answer.

Now let us assume that you have already worked on your shape transformation skills and you understand how to pick out methods of change and apply those changes to other shapes. As with all other question types, there is a process and approach you can apply which will help you efficiently get to your answer. Lets break down this process:

1. Identify the original shape that has been transformed and the shape you need to transform
2. Look at the shape that has been transformed and ask yourself the following (this is not a complete list but it will get your mind thinking):
   1. Has the shape changed in size?
   2. Has the shape rotated?
   3. Has the shape flipped?
   4. Has the shape changed in colour or pattern?
   5. Have any other shapes been added or taken away?
   6. Are there any other changes you have noticed that aren’t normal?
3. Depending on the changes you have noticed create rules based on the shape transformations you have seen
4. Go to the shape that you need to transform
5. Mentally and / or on paper begin to apply your rules to that shape
6. Eliminate any options that do not fit the rules
7. Identify which option from the given options fits the shape transformation and rules

Working Example

Question 1

Lets apply the process above to the Working Example and see if we get to an answer.

First of all we can see that the original transformed shape is on the left side of the colon ( : )

Lets run through some questions and see how this shape has changed:

1. Has it changed by size? No
2. Has it changed position? No
3. Has it been rotated in any way? No
4. Has it been flipped or reversed? No
5. Has anything been added or taken away? No
6. Has a colour or pattern changed? Yes

By running through a few quick questions we can see that there aren’t many major changes to the shape or design other than the diagonal pattern which is originally pointing to the top left now pointing to the top right.

We can now establish a rule off the back of this which is that in whatever direction the pattern is pointing it, it will point in the opposite direction when transformed.

Let us now look at the shape to be transformed and the 5 options:

Now that we have our rule we can apply it to the shape waiting to be transformed.

The rule was that in whatever direction the original pattern is pointing in, the opposite will happen when transformed.

So here we can see the pattern in the shape pointing towards the top left.

After applying the rule we now know that the pattern needs to point to the top right.

As nothing else changed no other rules or changes need to be applied so we can eliminate shapes / options which have extra changes to them for example if a shape is added or a colour is changed.

We do this because these things didn’t happen in the original transformation which is on the left side of the colons.

Looking at our options we can see that C is the only option where the only thing to have changed is the pattern.

We can now circle or select on the multiple answer sheet the option C.

ANSWER : C

Remember it is important to understand how we got to our answer and what was applied to get to the answer:

1. Using the original example on the left side to work out your rules
2. Seeing the changes that have been made after the shape has transformed
3. Creating your rules to apply based on the changes made
4. Eliminating options which do not follow these rules strictly

Getting used to and familiar with the above steps is key in making sure you have all the information you need to get to your answer.

What if I can’t work out the changes?

This question type can become very hard very quickly so to avoid getting frustrated try think clearly and apply a systematic approach and not just total guessing. With a systematic approach you can be confident that you are actively going to analyse and evaluate the information in front of you which will then get you to the answer.

Always do the following:

• Review the original working example
• Work systematically and step by step
• Look at each element or part of the shape one by one e.g. look at the shape, then the patterns, then the colours, then any additional elements
• Pinpoint what has changed

The process above focuses heavily on identifying the changes in the shape transformation as this is usually quicker and more efficient.

But as you can tell with the options different changes can be thrown at you to confuse you – so what can you do then?

Well in this instance, to help you become confident in your answer you can try the elimination approach.

The elimination approach focuses in on eliminating your options based on the things that have stayed the same and the things that have changed – you still have to create rules, but you create rules on everything you see. Although this is more thorough it will take you longer – lets give it a go and look at the original transformation:

We can see straight away that:

1. The bugs arms stay the same and point in the same direction including the number of arms (3 on each side of the body)
2. There are only 2 eyes which stay the same in size, position, number and colour
3. The body shape and size stay the same
4. The area the pattern covers stays the same, it doesn’t change in size, place or colour
5. The pattern changes from top right to top left (opposite direction)

As you can tell here there are 5 rules we have created instead of the 1 in the original working example. Lets apply these 5 rules to the options and eliminate them till we have 1 left:

1. Bugs arms stay the same – all options have the same number of arms.
2. 2 eyes which stay the same in size and colour – we can see that Option B the eyes are bigger in size and are now black. Option B is eliminated.
3. Body shape and size stay the same – remaining 3 options have the same body shape.
4. Area that the pattern covers stays the same – Option A the pattern area is flipped and is now at the bottom instead of the top. Option A is eliminated.
5. Pattern changes to the opposite direction – in the original shape the pattern points to the top right before pointing to the top left after being transformed. Option D the pattern is still pointing to the top left. Option D is eliminated because it doesn’t follow the transformation rule.

This leaves our last and final option and answer : C

In the situation where you are struggling to just find the changes or filter your options, look at everything (both changes and things that stayed the same), although this will take longer it will help you build rules to eliminate the options which don’t fit the rules, leaving you with your answer.