Select a figure from among the given Answer Figures that will continue the…

A figure-series (non-verbal reasoning) item is built by applying ONE transformation rule to a small set of picture elements, over and over, one problem figure at a time. To solve it, first isolate what changes between consecutive frames -- size, orientation (mirrored/rotated), and position of each element -- state that single rule in the abstract, then apply it once more to predict the next frame.

Applying this to the given series:

1. Figure 1 carries one small mark at its upper-right corner and one large element at its lower-left corner.

2. Figure 2: the small mark from Figure 1 is enlarged and flipped vertically (top and bottom swap places while left and right stay fixed), then placed at the lower-left; the previous lower-left element is dropped, and a new small mark appears at the upper-right.

3. Figure 3 repeats the same enlarge-and-flip step on Figure 2's small mark, and introduces its own new small mark at the upper-right.

4. Figure 4 repeats the step again on Figure 3's mark, introducing another new small mark at the upper-right.

5. Figure 5 repeats the step once more; its own upper-right corner now carries a small zig-zag mark -- a short vertical stroke with one arm reaching up-and-left from its upper part and another arm reaching down-and-right from its lower part. This is the mark that the sixth (missing) figure must enlarge and flip.

Enlarging and flipping Figure 5's mark vertically swaps which arm sits on top without changing which side (left or right) each arm points to: the arm that reached down-and-right from the lower part now reaches up-and-right from the top of the stroke, and the arm that reached up-and-left from the upper part now reaches down-and-left from the bottom. The missing figure must show exactly this enlarged, flipped mark at its lower-left corner.

Checking the four Answer Figures against this prediction:

• Figure 1 enlarges Figure 5's mark but keeps the SAME arm arrangement (down-and-right from the lower part, up-and-left from the upper part) instead of flipping it -- it skips the vertical inversion.

• Figure 2 is not built from the same vertical-stroke-with-two-diagonal-arms shape at all; its central stroke runs horizontal rather than vertical, so it does not continue this series' construction.

• Figure 3 shows exactly the predicted construction -- one arm reaching up-and-right from the top of the stroke and one arm reaching down-and-left from the bottom.

• Figure 4 flips the two arms in the right direction too, but attaches them to the stroke at a different point and a different angle than the enlarged transform of Figure 5's mark actually produces, so its proportions do not match.

Figure 3 is therefore the figure that continues the series.