Question: [Asked in Tech Mahindra 2023] [ This test belongs to Plus Members of…

Concept: In a figure-completion / pattern-continuation question, first find the design rule the grid already follows — a repeating stripe, a diagonal run, or a block of shaded squares — then pick the segment that extends every one of those runs into the gap without breaking it or leaving any shaded square isolated (touching white on all four sides).

Application:

• The row bordering the bottom of the gap already carries a block of three shaded squares at its far end.

• The column bordering the left side of the gap already carries a block of three shaded squares at its top.

• A diagonal line of shaded squares already runs unbroken from the grid's top-right corner down to a point just below the gap.

• Segment 5 is the only piece whose shading runs straight into the row's existing block, carries the column's stack smoothly through the gap, and keeps the diagonal unbroken — every shaded square in it connects to another shaded square.

Cross-check:

• Segment 1 drops a lone shaded square into the middle of the bordering row (white on both sides) and stops the column's stack one square short.

• Segment 2 shades two squares in that row that stay separated from the existing block by a plain white square.

• Segment 3 shades three squares in that row but still leaves one white square standing between them and the existing block.

• Segment 4 extends the column's stack by only one square before turning white again, and adds a second lone shaded square elsewhere.

Answer: Segment 5 completes the puzzle.