Abstract Reasoning: Foundations

What Does AR Test?

The Abstract Reasoning (AR) subtest evaluates your ability to identify patterns, rules, and relationships among abstract shapes and figures. This tests the kind of pattern-recognition skill used extensively in medical imaging (X-rays, CT scans, ECGs), pathology (tissue samples), and clinical pattern matching (symptom clusters).

The Format

• 55 questions in 13 minutes (approximately 14 seconds per question)
• This is the fastest-paced UCAT subtest by a significant margin
• Four question types (detailed below)

The Four AR Question Types

Type 1: Set A / Set B / Neither

You are shown two sets of shapes (Set A and Set B), each containing 6 boxes. Each set follows a specific rule or pattern. You are then shown 5 test shapes and must determine whether each belongs to Set A, Set B, or Neither.

Type 2: Sequence Completion

You are shown a sequence of shapes that follow a pattern, with one shape missing. You must select the shape that completes the sequence from 4 options.

Type 3: Statement Completion

You are shown a visual ‘statement’ in the form: “Shape A is to Shape B as Shape C is to ___”. You must identify the relationship between A and B, then apply the same relationship to find what goes with C.

Type 4: Set Membership (Similar to Type 1)

You are shown two sets and must determine which set each test shape belongs to. This is functionally similar to Type 1 but may present more test shapes.

What Patterns to Look For

AR patterns are based on a limited set of visual properties. Learn to systematically check each one:

1. Shape type: Circles, squares, triangles, arrows, stars, crosses, diamonds, hearts, pentagons
2. Number: How many of each shape? Does the count follow a rule?
3. Size: Small, medium, large — does size relate to another property?
4. Colour/Shading: Black, white, grey, striped, dotted — does shading follow a rule?
5. Position: Where is the shape in the box? Top, bottom, left, right, centre, corner?
6. Orientation/Rotation: Which direction does the shape point? Does it rotate?
7. Symmetry: Is the arrangement symmetric? Along which axis?
8. Containment: Is one shape inside another?
9. Intersection: Do shapes overlap?
10. Conditional rules: “If there is a circle, then there must be exactly 2 triangles” — the most complex pattern type