Select a figure from amongst the Answer Figures which will continue the same…

This is a position-rotation figure series: the same five symbols (triangle, square, cross, equals sign and question mark) cycle through the same five positions in each box (top-left, top-right, centre, bottom-left, bottom-right), with every symbol advancing by exactly one fixed step around a set path in each successive figure. Once that one-step path is established from the given figures, it determines the next figure in the series uniquely.

1. Label the five positions in each box as Top-Left, Top-Right, Centre, Bottom-Left and Bottom-Right.

2. Comparing Figure 1 to Figure 2 shows every symbol moves exactly one step along the fixed path Top-Left to Top-Right to Bottom-Left to Bottom-Right to Centre and back to Top-Left: Figure 1's top-left symbol (square) appears at Figure 2's top-right; Figure 1's top-right symbol (triangle) appears at Figure 2's bottom-left; Figure 1's bottom-left symbol (cross) appears at Figure 2's bottom-right; Figure 1's bottom-right symbol (equals sign) appears at Figure 2's centre; and Figure 1's centre symbol (question mark) appears at Figure 2's top-left.

3. The same one-step rule carries Figure 2 to Figure 3, Figure 3 to Figure 4, and Figure 4 to Figure 5 without exception, confirming it is the single rule governing the whole series.

4. Applying this same one-step rule to Figure 5 for the required sixth figure: Figure 5's centre symbol (square) moves to the top-left, Figure 5's top-left symbol (triangle) moves to the top-right, Figure 5's top-right symbol (cross) moves to the bottom-left, Figure 5's bottom-left symbol (equals sign) moves to the bottom-right, and Figure 5's bottom-right symbol (question mark) moves to the centre.

5. This gives the required sixth figure as: square at top-left, triangle at top-right, question mark at centre, cross at bottom-left, equals sign at bottom-right.

• Because the fixed path visits all five positions and returns to its starting position after exactly five steps, the whole arrangement itself repeats with a period of five figures - so the sixth figure must be identical in arrangement to the first figure.

• Figure 1 is exactly: square (top-left), triangle (top-right), question mark (centre), cross (bottom-left), equals sign (bottom-right) - the same arrangement derived above, confirming the result independently.

• Among the answer figures, only the figure labelled B reproduces this exact arrangement, so B is the figure that continues the series.