Non-Verbal Reasoning › Sequences
Sequences
A row of pictures that change step by step, following one steady rule. Work out the rule and you can say exactly what comes next.
What these questions are
A sequence is a row of pictures where each one changes from the last in the same way every time. One box is left empty, and you choose the picture that carries the pattern on. The whole job is to spot what changes between one picture and the next, then do it once more.
On this page you will meet three kinds:
- Series — a row that changes by one steady rule. Choose the next picture.
- Extended series — a longer row, and the empty box may sit in the middle rather than the end.
- Triangle series — the very same idea, built from triangles.
How to read a series
- Compare each picture with the one before it. What changed? Run the six-point check: shape, shading, size, number, position, rotation.
- Check the change is the same every step. That is the rule.
- If the empty box is in the middle, read from both sides to pin it down.
- Watch for two things changing at once, for example turning and changing colour.
A worked example
Here is a “series” question, taken slowly. The last box is empty — what belongs there?
- Compare box 1 with box 2. The arrow has turned a quarter-turn (90 degrees) clockwise: from pointing up to pointing right.
- Check the rule holds. Box 2 to box 3 is another quarter-turn clockwise: right to down. So the rule is “turn 90 degrees clockwise each step.”
- Apply it once more. A quarter-turn clockwise from pointing down takes the arrow to pointing left.
Now your go
Three short sets. Tap the picture you think comes next and you will get an explanation straight away. Nothing is timed or saved.
A little tip: say the rule out loud in words first — “turning clockwise,” “getting bigger,” “one more each time.” Once you can name it, the next picture is easy.
Series
Work out the rule, then tap the picture that comes next in the empty box.
Extended series
Longer rows, and the empty box is in the middle. Read from both sides, then tap the picture that fills the gap.
Triangle series
Same thinking, all triangles. Spot what changes each step, then tap the picture that comes next.
That is sequences
Naming the rule in plain words is the whole trick, and it works on every series you will meet. When you are ready, head back and try another topic.
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