Test: Shape Patterns - UCAT MCQ

Set C – This has a circle but no triangle, either right-angled or isosceles.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain at least one right-angled triangle and at least one circle; members of Set B contain at least one isosceles triangle and at least one circle.

Method: This is hard to spot, and so a process of elimination may help. There aren’t enough obviously-large shapes for Size to be a factor, nor does Orientation or Position vary in a clear pattern. Counting the number of shapes in the simplest cases (middle-right for A, bottom-left for B) enables exclusion of pure Number, whilst Colour is also easily checked and dismissed. Focussing on the shapes in these simplest cases (top- and middle-right for A, bottom-left for B) should reveal the importance of circles and triangles.

C – This contains a circle, but also both a right-angled triangle and an isosceles triangle.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain at least one right-angled triangle and at least one circle; members of Set B contain at least one isosceles triangle and at least one circle.

Method: This is hard to spot, and so a process of elimination may help. There aren’t enough obviously-large shapes for Size to be a factor, nor does Orientation or Position vary in a clear pattern. Counting the number of shapes in the simplest cases (middle-right for A, bottom-left for B) enables exclusion of pure Number, whilst Colour is also easily checked and dismissed. Focussing on the shapes in these simplest cases (top- and middle-right for A, bottom-left for B) should reveal the importance of circles and triangles.

Set A – This contains a circle and a right-angled triangle, as well as no isosceles triangle.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain at least one right-angled triangle and at least one circle; members of Set B contain at least one isosceles triangle and at least one circle.

Method: This is hard to spot, and so a process of elimination may help. There aren’t enough obviously-large shapes for Size to be a factor, nor does Orientation or Position vary in a clear pattern. Counting the number of shapes in the simplest cases (middle-right for A, bottom-left for B) enables exclusion of pure Number, whilst Colour is also easily checked and dismissed. Focussing on the shapes in these simplest cases (top- and middle-right for A, bottom-left for B) should reveal the importance of circles and triangles.

C – This contains none of the shapes relevant to either group.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain at least one right-angled triangle and at least one circle; members of Set B contain at least one isosceles triangle and at least one circle.

Method: This is hard to spot, and so a process of elimination may help. There aren’t enough obviously-large shapes for Size to be a factor, nor does Orientation or Position vary in a clear pattern. Counting the number of shapes in the simplest cases (middle-right for A, bottom-left for B) enables exclusion of pure Number, whilst Colour is also easily checked and dismissed. Focussing on the shapes in these simplest cases (top- and middle-right for A, bottom-left for B) should reveal the importance of circles and triangles.

C – This contains four isosceles triangles, but no circle.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain at least one right-angled triangle and at least one circle; members of Set B contain at least one isosceles triangle and at least one circle.

Method: This is hard to spot, and so a process of elimination may help. There aren’t enough obviously-large shapes for Size to be a factor, nor does Orientation or Position vary in a clear pattern. Counting the number of shapes in the simplest cases (middle-right for A, bottom-left for B) enables exclusion of pure Number, whilst Colour is also easily checked and dismissed. Focussing on the shapes in these simplest cases (top- and middle-right for A, bottom-left for B) should reveal the importance of circles and triangles.

C – This contains both three quadrilaterals and two triangles, and so satisfies the requirements of both sets.

Pattern: Members of both sets contain six elements whose colour, black or white, is irrelevant. Specifically, members of Set A contain three quadrilaterals (square/rectangle/diamond), whilst members of Set B contain two triangles (right-angled or isosceles).

Method: Colour can quickly be ruled out, e.g. by looking at the middle-right and bottom-right members of Set A. Checking a few boxes for the number of sides rules out this, too. It’s hard to find “simplest” cases in each set, but comparing within the sets helps – in A, there is no single common shape amongst the members (hexagons, crosses, stars or circles), but the abundance of squares, rectangles and diamonds should become apparent; likewise for triangles in B.

C – This contains two quadrilaterals and three triangles, meeting the requirements of neither set.

Pattern: Members of both sets contain six elements whose colour, black or white, is irrelevant. Specifically, members of Set A contain three quadrilaterals (square/rectangle/diamond), whilst members of Set B contain two triangles (right-angled or isosceles).

Method: Colour can quickly be ruled out, e.g. by looking at the middle-right and bottom-right members of Set A. Checking a few boxes for the number of sides rules out this, too. It’s hard to find “simplest” cases in each set, but comparing within the sets helps – in A, there is no single common shape amongst the members (hexagons, crosses, stars or circles), but the abundance of squares, rectangles and diamonds should become apparent; likewise for triangles in B.

Set B – This contains two triangles and one quadrilateral, meeting the requirements of Set B only.

Pattern: Members of both sets contain six elements whose colour, black or white, is irrelevant. Specifically, members of Set A contain three quadrilaterals (square/rectangle/diamond), whilst members of Set B contain two triangles (right-angled or isosceles).

Method: Colour can quickly be ruled out, e.g. by looking at the middle-right and bottom-right members of Set A. Checking a few boxes for the number of sides rules out this, too. It’s hard to find “simplest” cases in each set, but comparing within the sets helps – in A, there is no single common shape amongst the members (hexagons, crosses, stars or circles), but the abundance of squares, rectangles and diamonds should become apparent; likewise for triangles in B.

C – This contains two quadrilaterals and no triangles, meeting the requirements of neither set.

Pattern: Members of both sets contain six elements whose colour, black or white, is irrelevant. Specifically, members of Set A contain three quadrilaterals (square/rectangle/diamond), whilst members of Set B contain two triangles (right-angled or isosceles).

Method: Colour can quickly be ruled out, e.g. by looking at the middle-right and bottom-right members of Set A. Checking a few boxes for the number of sides rules out this, too. It’s hard to find “simplest” cases in each set, but comparing within the sets helps – in A, there is no single common shape amongst the members (hexagons, crosses, stars or circles), but the abundance of squares, rectangles and diamonds should become apparent; likewise for triangles in B.

Set A – This contains three quadrilaterals.

Pattern: Members of both sets contain six elements whose colour, black or white, is irrelevant. Specifically, members of Set A contain three quadrilaterals (square/rectangle/diamond), whilst members of Set B contain two triangles (right-angled or isosceles).

Method: Colour can quickly be ruled out, e.g. by looking at the middle-right and bottom-right members of Set A. Checking a few boxes for the number of sides rules out this, too. It’s hard to find “simplest” cases in each set, but comparing within the sets helps – in A, there is no single common shape amongst the members (hexagons, crosses, stars or circles), but the abundance of squares, rectangles and diamonds should become apparent; likewise for triangles in B.

Set B    1 regular; 5 irregular.

Pattern: Members of both sets contain a mixture of regular and irregular shapes, but members of Set A contain more regular shapes than irregular; conversely, members of Set B contain more irregular shapes than regular.

Method: Many candidates would likely struggle with this tough pattern. The simplest cases to compare in Set A are the top-right (2 regular, 1 irregular) and bottom-left (4 regular, 2 irregular); in Set B, they are bottom-right (1 regular, 2 irregular) and middle-left (1 regular, 3 irregular). It’s another pattern where a process of elimination helps – Size is easily excluded (most boxes have no large elements), as are Orientation, simple Number and Colour, to start with.

C   4 regular; 0 irregular – and members of both sets must contain a mixture of regular and irregular shapes.

Pattern: Members of both sets contain a mixture of regular and irregular shapes, but members of Set A contain more regular shapes than irregular; conversely, members of Set B contain more irregular shapes than regular.

Method: Many candidates would likely struggle with this tough pattern. The simplest cases to compare in Set A are the top-right (2 regular, 1 irregular) and bottom-left (4 regular, 2 irregular); in Set B, they are bottom-right (1 regular, 2 irregular) and middle-left (1 regular, 3 irregular). It’s another pattern where a process of elimination helps – Size is easily excluded (most boxes have no large elements), as are Orientation, simple Number and Colour, to start with.

Set A   3 regular; 2 irregular.

Pattern: Members of both sets contain a mixture of regular and irregular shapes, but members of Set A contain more regular shapes than irregular; conversely, members of Set B contain more irregular shapes than regular.

Method: Many candidates would likely struggle with this tough pattern. The simplest cases to compare in Set A are the top-right (2 regular, 1 irregular) and bottom-left (4 regular, 2 irregular); in Set B, they are bottom-right (1 regular, 2 irregular) and middle-left (1 regular, 3 irregular). It’s another pattern where a process of elimination helps – Size is easily excluded (most boxes have no large elements), as are Orientation, simple Number and Colour, to start with.

C   3 regular; 3 irregular.

Pattern: Members of both sets contain a mixture of regular and irregular shapes, but members of Set A contain more regular shapes than irregular; conversely, members of Set B contain more irregular shapes than regular.

Method: Many candidates would likely struggle with this tough pattern. The simplest cases to compare in Set A are the top-right (2 regular, 1 irregular) and bottom-left (4 regular, 2 irregular); in Set B, they are bottom-right (1 regular, 2 irregular) and middle-left (1 regular, 3 irregular). It’s another pattern where a process of elimination helps – Size is easily excluded (most boxes have no large elements), as are Orientation, simple Number and Colour, to start with.

Set B   2 regular; 3 irregular.

Pattern: Members of both sets contain a mixture of regular and irregular shapes, but members of Set A contain more regular shapes than irregular; conversely, members of Set B contain more irregular shapes than regular.

Method: Many candidates would likely struggle with this tough pattern. The simplest cases to compare in Set A are the top-right (2 regular, 1 irregular) and bottom-left (4 regular, 2 irregular); in Set B, they are bottom-right (1 regular, 2 irregular) and middle-left (1 regular, 3 irregular). It’s another pattern where a process of elimination helps – Size is easily excluded (most boxes have no large elements), as are Orientation, simple Number and Colour, to start with.