AR Shape Patterns

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

Set B – The two crescents possess curved surfaces.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain exactly one element with at least one curved side; members of Set B contain exactly two elements with at least one curved side.

Method: Focus on the simplest cases, namely top- and middle-left in A and top- and middle-right in B. Colour and Number (of shapes) can thus be ruled out. However, the white colouration of the curved shapes in these Set A examples may help you to spot that they each have a single curved shape, compared to the two curved shapes in each of the Set B examples – this is confirmed by looking at other simple members, e.g. the bottom-right of Set A and bottom-left of B.

Explanation

C – This has no shapes with curved surfaces.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain exactly one element with at least one curved side; members of Set B contain exactly two elements with at least one curved side.

Method: Focus on the simplest cases, namely top- and middle-left in A and top- and middle-right in B. Colour and Number (of shapes) can thus be ruled out. However, the white colouration of the curved shapes in these Set A examples may help you to spot that they each have a single curved shape, compared to the two curved shapes in each of the Set B examples – this is confirmed by looking at other simple members, e.g. the bottom-right of Set A and bottom-left of B.

Explanation

Set A – This has one shape with a curved surface.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain exactly one element with at least one curved side; members of Set B contain exactly two elements with at least one curved side.

Method: Focus on the simplest cases, namely top- and middle-left in A and top- and middle-right in B. Colour and Number (of shapes) can thus be ruled out. However, the white colouration of the curved shapes in these Set A examples may help you to spot that they each have a single curved shape, compared to the two curved shapes in each of the Set B examples – this is confirmed by looking at other simple members, e.g. the bottom-right of Set A and bottom-left of B.

Explanation

C – This has four shapes with curved surfaces, so fits into neither set.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain exactly one element with at least one curved side; members of Set B contain exactly two elements with at least one curved side.

Method: Focus on the simplest cases, namely top- and middle-left in A and top- and middle-right in B. Colour and Number (of shapes) can thus be ruled out. However, the white colouration of the curved shapes in these Set A examples may help you to spot that they each have a single curved shape, compared to the two curved shapes in each of the Set B examples – this is confirmed by looking at other simple members, e.g. the bottom-right of Set A and bottom-left of B.

Explanation

Set A – This has one shape with a curved surface, the central circle.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain exactly one element with at least one curved side; members of Set B contain exactly two elements with at least one curved side.

Method: Focus on the simplest cases, namely top- and middle-left in A and top- and middle-right in B. Colour and Number (of shapes) can thus be ruled out. However, the white colouration of the curved shapes in these Set A examples may help you to spot that they each have a single curved shape, compared to the two curved shapes in each of the Set B examples – this is confirmed by looking at other simple members, e.g. the bottom-right of Set A and bottom-left of B.

Explanation

Set A – The oval has two lines of linear symmetry.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain only shapes with at least one line of linear symmetry; members of Set B contain only shapes with no lines of linear symmetry.

Method: The simplest cases are the bottom-right in Set A and middle-right in Set B. Clearly, the pattern has little to do with curved or straight edges, or black or white colouration. It also helps, here, to look at the overall picture across each of the sets. Set B contains a lot of relatively unusual shapes, including many examples of the “L” or “tick” shape and the squiggly rectangle. This should encourage you to look for the symmetrical properties of the shapes in each set.

Explanation

Set A – All four shapes possess lines of linear symmetry.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain only shapes with at least one line of linear symmetry; members of Set B contain only shapes with no lines of linear symmetry.

Method: The simplest cases are the bottom-right in Set A and middle-right in Set B. Clearly, the pattern has little to do with curved or straight edges, or black or white colouration. It also helps, here, to look at the overall picture across each of the sets. Set B contains a lot of relatively unusual shapes, including many examples of the “L” or “tick” shape and the squiggly rectangle. This should encourage you to look for the symmetrical properties of the shapes in each set.

Explanation

C – The black rectangle is symmetrical, but the right-angled triangles are not.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain only shapes with at least one line of linear symmetry; members of Set B contain only shapes with no lines of linear symmetry.

Method: The simplest cases are the bottom-right in Set A and middle-right in Set B. Clearly, the pattern has little to do with curved or straight edges, or black or white colouration. It also helps, here, to look at the overall picture across each of the sets. Set B contains a lot of relatively unusual shapes, including many examples of the “L” or “tick” shape and the squiggly rectangle. This should encourage you to look for the symmetrical properties of the shapes in each set.

Explanation

Set A – The arrows each possess a single line of linear symmetry.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain only shapes with at least one line of linear symmetry; members of Set B contain only shapes with no lines of linear symmetry.

Method: The simplest cases are the bottom-right in Set A and middle-right in Set B. Clearly, the pattern has little to do with curved or straight edges, or black or white colouration. It also helps, here, to look at the overall picture across each of the sets. Set B contains a lot of relatively unusual shapes, including many examples of the “L” or “tick” shape and the squiggly rectangle. This should encourage you to look for the symmetrical properties of the shapes in each set.

Explanation

Set A – Both types of shape here are linearly symmetrical.

Pattern: Members of Set A contain only shapes with at least one line of linear symmetry; members of Set B contain only shapes with no lines of linear symmetry.

Method: The simplest cases are the bottom-right in Set A and middle-right in Set B. Clearly, the pattern has little to do with curved or straight edges, or black or white colouration. It also helps, here, to look at the overall picture across each of the sets. Set B contains a lot of relatively unusual shapes, including many examples of the “L” or “tick” shape and the squiggly rectangle. This should encourage you to look for the symmetrical properties of the shapes in each set.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Top tip!

Remember that a regular shape is a shape where all sides are the same length, and all internal angles are the same. This is not something which we often consider in real life, but it is a potential pattern which has appeared in the UCAT before.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.

Explanation

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.