Elements Logical Reasoning
There are three types of patterns in the matrix, each of which appears once in each row and once in each column: 1. 2. 3.
A pair of identical diagonal arrows (e.g. the top-left cell). A pair of parallel diagonal arrows that are facing opposite directions (e.g. the bottom-left cell). A pair of diagonal arrows perpendicular to each other (e.g. the middle-left cell).
In the row (and column) of the missing cell there is a pair of identical arrows and a pair of perpendicular arrows, thus the missing cell must contain a pair of arrows that are facing opposite directions. The only alternative that fulfills this requirement is #7.
This is a “matrix within a matrix” question. As such, it requires that we shift our focus from the relations between cells as wholes to the relations between the symbols comprising the different cells. Each column/row can be divided to three: left arrows, middle arrows and right arrows. Each of these triplets contains one verticalarrow, one diagonal arrow and one horizontal arrow. For instance, if we look at the middle column, and then focus on its left arrows, we can see that the top arrow is vertical, the middle one is horizontal, and the bottom one is diagonal. According to this logic, the left arrow in the missing cell must be vertical, the middle arrow must be horizontal, and the right arrow must be diagonal. The only alternative that fulfills this requirement is #2. Note: what makes this question so difficult is the load of irrelevant information. For example, it may seem that the exact orientation of the arrows (i.e. left/right, up/down etc.) has a meaning, or that the arrows follow a certain logic based on their clockwise rotation. However, these are only distractions and no such logic actually exists.
All the cells contain three out of five symbols: ≠ ☼≈ ☺♫, following some sort of order. order. For example, ‘ ☼’ is always followed by ‘≈’ and ‘≠’ is always followed by ‘ ☼’. This can be used as a hint to indicate that there is a sequence of symbols that “moves” throughout the cells.
In order to better understand this movement we can focus on the complete rows. Starting from the left cell in the middle row and moving to the right, we can see that the symbols “move” one step to the right and then two steps to the right. right. This movement’s logic is continuous is continuous throughout the matrix’s rows, so that the symbols “move” again one step to the right when moving from the right cell in the middle row to the left cell in the bottom row. For instance, if we follow the ‘☼’ through through the rows, starting from the left cell in the middle row, we can see that it first “moves” one step to the right. Then, when moving t o the right cell i n the middle row, the ' ☼' "moves" two steps to the right, causing it to disappear (as it is now the 5th symbol in the sequence, whereas only the first three symbols can be seen in each cell). Continuing to the left cell in the bottom row, the ' ☼' moves again one step to the right, causing it to reappear (as it becomes the 1st symbol in the sequence). Working backwards, we can see that the symbols “move” two “move” two steps to the left when moving from the left cell in the middle row to the right cell in the top row. Therefore, the symbols should “move” one “move” one step to the left when moving from the right cell in the top row to the missing cell, resulting in the next sequence of symbols: ☺♫ ≠.
There are three types of patterns in the matrix, each of which appears once in each row and once in each column: 1. 2. 3.
A pair of vertical ‘i’s. A pair of diagonal ‘i’s. A pair of different-oriented ‘i’s (one diagonal ‘i’ and one horizontal ‘i’).
In the row (and column) of the missing cell there is a pair of different-oriented different- oriented ‘i’s and a pair of diagonal ‘i’s. Therefore, we need to look for an alternative that contains two vertical ‘i’s. The answer is therefore alternative #3.
Note: The exact orientation of the ‘i’s (e.g. left/right) is just a distraction in this case, and does not follow any logical sequence anyway.
The pop-up: In each row the right cell consists of a duplication of the right symbol from the middle cell and an addition of a new symbol between the two identical symbols. Thus, the correct answer is #7. The complete logic : In each row, the symbols in the middle cell are a combination of the symbols from the left and right (i.e. outer) cells so that:
The left symbol in the middle cell is identical to the outer symbols in the left cell. The right symbol in the middle cell is identical to the outer symbols in the right cell. The middle symbol in all three cells is different from all the other symbols in the row.
There are three types of patterns in the matrix, each of which appears once in each row and once in each column: 1. 2. 3.
Two vertical ‘i’s and one horizontal one horizontal ‘i’ in between them (e.g. the middle-left middle -left cell). Two horizontal ‘i’s and one vertical one vertical ‘i’ in between them (e.g. the top -left cell). Three diagonal ‘i’s (e.g. the bottom-left bottom-left cell).
In the row (and column) of the missing cell, one cell matches the fi rst pattern and the other matches the second one. Therefore, we need to look for an alternative that matches the third pattern. As 6 of the alternatives have 3 diagonal 'i's, we need to refine our rule. Another feature of the matrix is that all of its cells consist of three ‘i’s as follows: the outer ‘i’s in each cell are facing opposite directions and are perpendicular to the inner ‘i’.
