Select the figure from the alternatives which will complete the pattern in the…

Concept

In a “complete the pattern” grid, the large figure is built from one design rule that is repeated, rotated or reflected across its cells. To find the missing piece, first read the rule from the cells that are already filled, then apply that same rule to the empty cell — the correct choice is the one whose internal elements continue the design exactly, not merely a figure that looks broadly similar.

Reading the rule from the filled cells

The big square is split by a central cross into four corner cells, and a large diamond (a square rotated 45°) joins the mid-points of the four sides. Each filled corner carries two repeated features:

• a small circle sits in the OUTER corner of the cell — the corner that touches the outer corner of the big square (top-left cell → circle top-left; top-right cell → circle top-right; bottom-left cell → circle bottom-left);

• the short tick marks lie on the INNER edges of the cell — the edges next to the central cross — pointing toward the centre, while the diamond’s slanting edge cuts off the outer corner triangle that holds the circle.

Applying the rule to the empty cell

1. The empty cell is the bottom-right one, so its OUTER corner is the bottom-right corner; by the circle rule, the small circle must sit in the bottom-right corner.

2. Its INNER edges are the top edge and the left edge (both border the central cross); by the tick rule, the short ticks must lie on those two inner edges and point inward.

3. The diamond’s lower-right slanting edge must run across the cell, cutting off the bottom-right triangle that carries the circle.

The figure that satisfies all three at once — circle in the bottom-right corner, ticks on the inner (top and left) edges pointing toward the centre, and the diagonal cutting the bottom-right corner — is the one that completes the pattern.

Cross-check

Place the chosen figure into the empty cell and rotate the whole big square in quarter-turns: the four corner cells now map onto one another exactly — every circle lands in an outer corner and every tick stays on an inner edge — confirming the design is consistent all the way round.