Each of the following questions consists of five figures marked A, B, C, D and…
2025
Each of the following questions consists of five figures marked A, B, C, D and E called the Problem Figures, followed by five other figures marked 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 called the Answer Figures. Select a figure from amongst the Answer Figures which will continue the same series as established by the five Problem Figures.
Problem Figures: (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) Answer Figures: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
- A.
1
- B.
2
- C.
3
- D.
4
- E.
5
Attempted by 26 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: E
Concept: In this symbol-placement series, three symbols occupy positions among 8 equally spaced points on a square’s boundary (4 corners + 4 edge-midpoints, each next point half a side apart). At every step exactly one symbol advances, always anticlockwise (ACW), while the other two stay fixed; the step sizes repeat in a fixed 2 → 3 → 4 half-side-space cycle. Within each 3-step cycle, the symbol at the anticlockwise-leading edge of the group moves first (2 spaces), the one at the clockwise-trailing edge moves second (3 spaces), and the remaining symbol moves third (4 spaces).
Application: Number the 8 boundary points clockwise as 0 (top-mid), 1 (top-right corner), 2 (right-mid), 3 (bottom-right corner), 4 (bottom-mid), 5 (bottom-left corner), 6 (left-mid) and 7 (top-left corner), so anticlockwise movement decreases this number:
Figure A: ★ at 0, "=" at 1, "×" at 2 — a tight anticlockwise cluster; ★ leads this cluster.
A → B (step 1, cycle 1): the leading ★ moves 2 spaces anticlockwise, 0 → 6.
B → C (step 2, cycle 1): the trailing "×" moves 3 spaces anticlockwise, 2 → 7.
C → D (step 3, cycle 1): the remaining "=" moves 4 spaces anticlockwise, 1 → 5 — cycle 1 complete, each symbol has moved exactly once.
Figure D starts cycle 2 with a new tight cluster: "=" at 5, ★ at 6, "×" at 7 — "=" now leads.
D → E (step 1, cycle 2): the leading "=" moves 2 spaces anticlockwise, 5 → 3.
E → next figure (step 2, cycle 2): the trailing "×" moves 3 spaces anticlockwise, 7 → 4, while ★ and "=" — not due this step — stay fixed at 6 and 3.
Figure | ★ | × | = |
|---|---|---|---|
A | Top-mid (0) | Right-mid (2) | Top-right corner (1) |
B | Left-mid (6) | Right-mid (2) | Top-right corner (1) |
C | Left-mid (6) | Top-left corner (7) | Top-right corner (1) |
D | Left-mid (6) | Top-left corner (7) | Bottom-left corner (5) |
E | Left-mid (6) | Top-left corner (7) | Bottom-right corner (3) |
Next (Answer) | Left-mid (6) | Bottom-mid (4) | Bottom-right corner (3) |
Cross-check: across the five transitions traced above, ★ has moved exactly once (cycle 1, step 1) and is due to move again only in cycle 2’s step 3 (not needed here); "×" has moved exactly twice, once per cycle, each time in that cycle’s step 2 — consistent with the repeating rule; "=" has moved once in each cycle so far. Every figure keeps exactly one ★, one "×" and one "=", none repeated or dropped, confirming the trace is complete and internally consistent.
So the next figure keeps ★ at the left-edge midpoint and "=" at the bottom-right corner exactly as in Figure E, and shifts only "×" from the top-left corner to the bottom-edge midpoint. Among the Answer Figures, that is the figure with ★ at the left-edge midpoint, "×" at the bottom-edge midpoint and "=" at the bottom-right corner.