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Spatial Reasoning Test

Rotations, reflections, folded nets and hidden blocks, in the formats employers actually set. Every question below comes with the visual working explained.

10 questions
10 minutes
Worked solutions
Printable PDF

Free · No sign-up · Scored the moment you finish

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Excellent, 4.9/5 · 125 reviews

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Written by Guy Thornton, Founder, Practice Aptitude Tests

Published 16 February 2022 · Updated 11 September 2026

Built to frameworks from chartered occupational psychologists, and checked against real candidate results

What is a spatial reasoning test?

A spatial reasoning test measures how well you picture and manipulate shapes in two and three dimensions. Employers use it for roles that rely on visualising objects before interview. You work through tasks such as rotating shapes, matching them and folding nets into solids, choosing the correct answer from the options given. It rewards holding an image in mind and turning it accurately.

Free spatial reasoning test

What's inside

4 easy 5 medium 1 hard

Skills covered

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Question 1 of 10

01 / 10 Abstract Easy

Which shape comes next in the sequence?

A

B

C

D

Show worked solution

The answer is C. Each triangle turns 90° clockwise from the one before it. Continuing the turn gives the triangle at 0°. Option A turns back the way the sequence came instead of continuing. Option B repeats the last shape without applying the final turn. Option D over-rotates by one extra 90° step.

Question 2 of 10

02 / 10 Abstract Medium

Which shape comes next in the sequence?

A

B

C

D

Show worked solution

The answer is B. Each arrow turns 45° anticlockwise from the one before it. Continuing the turn gives the arrow at 270°. Option A over-rotates by one extra 45° step. Option C repeats the last shape without applying the final turn. Option D turns back the way the sequence came instead of continuing.

Question 3 of 10

03 / 10 Abstract Easy

Which shape comes next in the sequence?

A

B

C

D

Show worked solution

The answer is D. The shaded cell moves one position clockwise around the grid at each step. The next clockwise position is the bottom-left cell. Option A skips a cell, moving two positions clockwise instead of one. Option B leaves the marker where it was, ignoring the move. Option C moves the marker anticlockwise, the wrong way round.

Question 4 of 10

04 / 10 Abstract Medium

Which shape comes next in the sequence?

A

B

C

D

Show worked solution

The answer is A. The triangle is flipped left-to-right at each step, so the orientation alternates. After the fourth shape (flipped) the sequence returns to the original, right angle at the bottom-left. Option B rotates the triangle 180° rather than reflecting it. Option C rotates the triangle 90° clockwise rather than reflecting it. Option D keeps the flipped orientation instead of alternating back.

Question 5 of 10

05 / 10 Abstract Medium

Which shape comes next in the sequence?

A

B

C

D

Show worked solution

The answer is C. Each chevron turns 45° clockwise from the one before it. Continuing the turn gives the chevron at 225°. Option A repeats the last shape without applying the final turn. Option B over-rotates by one extra 45° step. Option D turns back the way the sequence came instead of continuing.

Question 6 of 10

06 / 10 Abstract Medium

Which shape comes next in the sequence?

A

B

C

D

Show worked solution

The answer is B. Each chevron turns 45° clockwise from the one before it. Continuing the turn gives the chevron at 270°. Option A over-rotates by one extra 45° step. Option C turns back the way the sequence came instead of continuing. Option D repeats the last shape without applying the final turn.

Question 7 of 10

07 / 10 Abstract Hard

Which shape comes next in the sequence?

A

B

C

D

Show worked solution

The answer is A. The shaded cell moves one position clockwise around the grid at each step. The next clockwise position is the bottom-right cell. Option B skips a cell, moving two positions clockwise instead of one. Option C moves the marker anticlockwise, the wrong way round. Option D leaves the marker where it was, ignoring the move.

Question 8 of 10

08 / 10 Abstract Medium

Which shape comes next in the sequence?

A

B

C

D

Show worked solution

The answer is C. The triangle is flipped left-to-right at each step, so the orientation alternates. After the fourth shape (flipped) the sequence returns to the original, right angle at the bottom-left. Option A rotates the triangle 180° rather than reflecting it. Option B keeps the flipped orientation instead of alternating back. Option D rotates the triangle 90° clockwise rather than reflecting it.

Question 9 of 10

09 / 10 Abstract Easy

Which shape comes next in the sequence?

A

B

C

D

Show worked solution

The answer is B. Each arrow turns 90° anticlockwise from the one before it. Continuing the turn gives the arrow at 0°. Option A repeats the last shape without applying the final turn. Option C turns back the way the sequence came instead of continuing. Option D over-rotates by one extra 90° step.

Question 10 of 10

10 / 10 Abstract Easy

Which shape comes next in the sequence?

A

B

C

D

Show worked solution

The answer is D. Each right-angled triangle turns 90° clockwise from the one before it. Continuing the turn gives the right-angled triangle at 45°. Option A repeats the last shape without applying the final turn. Option B turns back the way the sequence came instead of continuing. Option C over-rotates by one extra 90° step.

How to interpret your score

Illustrative bands for a 10-question spatial reasoning test, not measured pass marks
Score	What it suggests
9 to 10	Comfortably above the bar for most graduate schemes
7 to 8	Around the typical pass mark. Worth practising for speed
5 to 6	Below most employer thresholds. Focus on method before speed
4 or fewer	Work through the worked solutions above before retrying

Employers set their own thresholds and many sift on the top percentage of applicants rather than a fixed mark, so treat these as a guide.

How to move up the scale

One test tells you the style. A pack gives you the pace: batches under time pressure, marked, with the working shown.

Unlock 11 Spatial Reasoning tests £39 a year, or £29 a month. Cancel any time

11: Spatial Reasoning tests
110: questions, all solved

Types of spatial reasoning question

Each type targets a different part of visualising and manipulating shapes. Each guide below covers one, with the method that works.

Mental rotation

Turn a shape in your head and match it among lookalikes. Fix on one identifying feature and rotate only that.

How mental rotation works

Cubes and nets

Fold a flat net into a cube, or unfold one. Track one face at a time; opposite faces can never touch.

How cube and net questions work

Block counting

Count the blocks in a 3D stack, including the ones you cannot see. The hidden ones are the point.

How block counting works

Rotation vs reflection

A mirror image has the opposite handedness: no amount of turning lines it up.

How to tell them apart

What does a spatial reasoning test measure?

A spatial reasoning test measures how well you picture objects in two and three dimensions and manipulate them in your mind: rotating, reflecting, folding or assembling shapes to work out an answer from limited information. It is the ability to see how something would look from another angle, or once it has been moved, without physically moving it.

Spatial ability underpins a lot of technical work, which is why employers in engineering, technology, architecture, design, the military and the emergency services use these tests to judge whether a candidate can interpret drawings, plans and physical space. The good news is that it is a trainable skill: spatial reasoning improves measurably with practice.

Questions are multiple choice, timed, and ask you to identify patterns and relationships between shapes or to select the correct transformed version of one.

How are spatial reasoning tests scored?

Most employers score you against other candidates, not against a fixed pass mark: your raw score becomes a percentile. Competitive graduate schemes commonly sift at around the 70th to 80th percentile. Attempting questions matters, because most tests are built so few candidates finish, and guessing usually pays: negative marking is rare, but check the instructions.

Average score92%

75th-percentile score100%

0%50%100%

Average75th percentile

Source: Practice Aptitude Tests

Based on 558 completed practice sittings, all time. Checked 14 September 2026.

The 75th percentile marks the boundary of the top quarter of recorded scores; tied scores can share that boundary. These are our practice results, not employer pass marks.

How we calculate these figures

We use all-time completed, scored attempts at this practice test. Repeat attempts count separately, so the sample is sittings rather than unique people.

The average is the mean score across those sittings. The 75th percentile comes from their recorded score distribution. The “checked” date is when we retrieved the figures, not the period when the tests were taken.

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Sharing these figures? Please credit Practice Aptitude Tests and link to this page.

Who uses spatial reasoning tests?

Spatial reasoning tests are used wherever a role depends on interpreting shapes, drawings, plans or physical space. That makes them common in engineering, technology, architecture and design, where you might create or read technical drawings, and in the military, police and emergency services, where spatial judgement is part of the job.

Most employers license their tests from a small number of publishers, and the timing and question style vary between them, so find out which publisher your employer uses before you prepare seriously. It is usually named in the invitation email. Our test publisher guides cover each format, and the employer guides cover specific companies’ processes.

Video tutorials

The methods behind the questions above, from our team

Spatial Tests: A Guide 6 mins

Mirror Images 2 mins

Rotated Views 1 min

Frequently asked questions

What candidates ask us most often

What is the difference between spatial reasoning and spatial awareness?

They refer to the same ability and the terms are used interchangeably. Spatial awareness describes the underlying skill of sensing how objects relate in space; a spatial reasoning test is simply how that skill is measured, through rotation, folding, matching and similar questions.

Can I use a pen and paper in a spatial reasoning test?

Usually yes, and it genuinely helps to sketch a rotation or fold rather than hold it in your head. Bring paper and check it is allowed, since some supervised or online tests do not permit it. Where it is allowed, use it for the harder folding and cube questions.

How long is a spatial reasoning test?

Most run for a fixed window at roughly a minute per question, so around 20 to 30 minutes depending on the number of questions. The exact length varies by publisher and role and is usually stated in your invitation email.

Why do reflected shapes catch people out?

Because a reflection matches the original on many features and only differs in handedness, so it looks right at a glance. Rotation can never turn a shape into its mirror image, so checking an asymmetric feature is the quickest way to separate a genuine rotation from a decoy reflection.

Do I need to be good at maths for a spatial reasoning test?

No. Spatial reasoning is about visualising shapes, not calculating, so there is no arithmetic beyond simple counting in block questions. It draws on a different ability from numerical reasoning, which is why some strong mathematicians find it harder than expected and vice versa.

What is the best way to prepare?

Practise under the real time limit from the start, and review every answer you got wrong; untimed work builds accuracy but not the speed the test measures. Our spatial preparation guide covers the full sequence. The how to ace guide covers technique, and can you improve spatial reasoning? answers the practice question.

Reviews

Rated 4.9 out of 5 across 125 reviews. A selection:

Interesting

Well, it was a standard question set. And it consists of many apparently easy questions with a disguise of clever catch. I would really like to practice more through it to crack my job aptitude tests.

Attempt 1

The test had clear instructions but was more of the same questions. I was expecting questions of varied dimensions but I think the results will share some light as to what the objective was and where I went wrong. I am hoping I will find more questions to practice especially in 3D.

It was good

I liked the variability of the questions and the time limit but perhaps more questions with a similar time limit might be another option. Or a second free quiz for further skill building and as an extra challenge.

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