Select the figure that would complete the following matrix :

Concept

In this pattern-completion (figure-matrix) question, every cell of the grid holds the same set of three symbols, but each symbol's corner position shifts by one fixed step from one cell to the next, following the corner order top-left -> bottom-left -> bottom-right -> top-right -> top-left. Only 3 of the 4 corners are filled in each cell, so the single empty corner shifts by that same one-step rule too.

Application

1. In the first row, cell 1 places a circle at the top-left, a triangle at the top-right, and a star at the bottom-left (the bottom-right corner is empty).

2. In cell 2 of the same row, every symbol has moved one step along the fixed corner order: the circle moves from top-left to bottom-left, the triangle moves from top-right to top-left, and the star moves from bottom-left to bottom-right; the empty corner moves from bottom-right to top-right.

3. Cell 3 of the first row shows one more step of the same shift: the circle reaches bottom-right, the triangle reaches bottom-left, and the star reaches top-right, leaving the top-left corner empty -- confirming the one-step rotation rule.

4. The second row uses a different set of three symbols (star, circle, and an inverted triangle) but follows the same rotation rule. Cell 1 of this row places a star at the top-left, a circle at the top-right, and an inverted triangle at the bottom-right (the bottom-left corner is empty).

5. Cell 2 of the second row shows one more step of the rotation: the star moves to the bottom-left, the circle moves to the top-left, and the inverted triangle moves to the top-right; the empty corner moves to the bottom-right.

6. Applying the same one-step rotation once more for the missing third cell: the star must move to the bottom-right, the circle must move to the bottom-left, and the inverted triangle must move to the top-left, leaving the top-right corner empty.

Cross-check

The remaining figures break this pattern in different ways. One keeps the same three symbols and corners but swaps the star and the circle between the bottom-left and bottom-right corners. Another keeps the correct three symbols but places the circle at the top-right instead of the bottom-left, leaving the bottom-left corner empty instead of the top-right corner. Yet another changes the symbols themselves, showing an upward-pointing triangle instead of the inverted triangle and an unfilled (outline) star instead of the filled star.

Hence the figure that completes the matrix is the one showing an inverted triangle at the top-left, a circle at the bottom-left, and a star at the bottom-right.