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Practise the kind of logical reasoning test employers use: 30 original questions on number and letter series, figure series, odd one out, analogies and matrices, getting harder as you go, against a 20-minute clock. Try 10 sample questions with answers first, then see your score out of 30 the moment you finish the full test. Taking the test and seeing your score is free; a detailed report and certificate are optional.
Instant score out of 30
A practice test, not an IQ test. Every question on this page and in the timed test was written by IQ Metrics. Your result is a score out of 30, never an IQ, and there is no percentile, because a fair percentile needs a large group of earlier test takers to compare with. IQ Metrics is not affiliated with SHL or any other test publisher.
Ten logical reasoning sample questions, two of each type, easy first. Click an option to see if you are right and why. The clock starts on your first click: the full test gives you about 40 seconds a question, so aim to finish all ten in 7 minutes. These ten are not in the timed test, so practising them gives nothing away.
64, 32, 48, 24, 36, 18, … What number comes next?
Answer C: 27. The steps take turns: halve (64 to 32), then add half (32 to 48), halve (48 to 24), add half (24 to 36), halve (36 to 18). Next is "add half": 18 + 9 = 27.
Which board comes next?
Answer D: six navy squares, orange in the seventh place. Each board adds one navy square, filling the board along the rows like reading a page. The orange square always sits in the next empty place, one step ahead of the navy squares. Board six: six navy squares and the orange square in the seventh place (bottom left).
Five of these six figures follow the same rule. Which one is the odd one out?
Answer F: navy pentagon, orange triangle. In each tile, count the corners of the navy shape and of the orange shape. In five tiles the navy shape has exactly one corner more than the orange one. The navy pentagon with the orange triangle has two corners more.
The first figure changes into the second. Make the same change to the third figure.
Answer B: flipped top to bottom. In the example the top row becomes the bottom row: the pattern is flipped top to bottom, like a reflection in water. Nothing else changes: the colours stay the same. Flip the third pattern top to bottom.
Which figure belongs in the empty square of the grid?
Answer E: navy square. Every row has one circle, one square and one triangle. The bottom row has a triangle and a circle, so it needs a square. The colour stays the same down each column: white, orange, navy. The last column is navy.
C3, F6, I9, L12, … What comes next?
Answer B: O15. Each number is the letter's place in the alphabet: C is the 3rd letter, F the 6th, I the 9th, L the 12th. Each step moves on three letters, so next is the 15th letter, O, with the number 15.
Which arrow comes next?
Answer A: orange, pointing up-left. The arrow turns the same amount clockwise each time: 135 degrees, a quarter turn and a half. From pointing down, 135 degrees clockwise ends pointing up-left. The colour swaps every time, navy then orange, so the sixth arrow is orange.
Five of these six figures follow the same rule. Which one is the odd one out?
Answer C: 5 navy, 2 orange. Count the navy squares and the orange squares on each board. On five boards there are exactly twice as many navy squares as orange ones: 2 and 1, 4 and 2, 6 and 3. The odd board has 5 navy squares and 2 orange ones.
The first figure changes into the second. Make the same change to the third figure.
Answer F: turned a half turn, colours swapped. Two things change in the example. The pattern turns a half turn (upside down). Navy squares become orange and orange squares become navy. Do both to the third pattern.
Which figure belongs in the empty square of the grid?
Answer D: hexagon with 4 dots. Along each row, the third cell has as many dots as the first two together: 1 + 2 = 3, 2 + 2 = 4. The shape stays the same along a row. Bottom row: 3 + 1 = 4 dots in a hexagon.
Your pace: The full test has 30 questions that get harder as you go, against a 20-minute clock.
Take the full 30-question test →A logical reasoning test measures how well you find the rule behind a set of examples and use it to choose the right answer, usually against a tight time limit. Most employer versions are non-verbal: series of numbers, letters or shapes, odd-one-out sets, analogies and matrices. No knowledge is tested, only how quickly and accurately you spot the rule.
Psychologists call this inductive reasoning: working from examples to a general rule. [4] The best-known test of it, Raven’s Progressive Matrices, was developed in 1936 and is still used as a non-verbal measure of fluid reasoning, the ability to solve new problems without relying on what you have learned. [1] Employers use the same kind of question because it works across languages and backgrounds.
This logical reasoning practice test has 30 questions in 20 minutes, six of each of the five most common types, mixed together and ordered from easy to hard, the way timed aptitude tests are.
| Type | What you see | What you do | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number and letter series | A list such as 2, 6, 18, 54 … | Find the step and give the next term | 6 |
| Figure series | Five pictures in a row | Work out what changes and pick the sixth | 6 |
| Odd one out | Six figures | Find the rule five share and the one that breaks it | 6 |
| Analogies | A changes into B; then C | Make the same change to C | 6 |
| Matrices | A 3×3 grid with one cell missing | Find the row and column rules | 6 |
“Logical reasoning test” is an umbrella name. Employers and test publishers use several formats under it, and an invitation email does not always say which one. These are the five you are most likely to meet.
Find the rule from examples: what comes next, which is the odd one out, which completes the grid. This is what most employers mean by a logical reasoning test, and what the questions on this page practise. [4]
The same skill with shapes only: no numbers or words. Sequences, odd-one-out sets and matrices of figures. An abstract reasoning test is close to the matrix-style questions of a culture-fair test.
Statements, then a conclusion: does it follow, not follow, or can you not tell? Deductive reasoning means the conclusion must be true if the statements are. [5] Verbal logical reasoning tests and critical thinking tests such as the Watson-Glaser use this format; see what the Watson-Glaser measures.
Shapes pass through boxes, and each box changes them by a rule (turn, recolour, remove). You work out what each box does and follow a new shape through. It is inductive reasoning with a flow chart.
Short employer tests often mix logical reasoning with numbers and words. If you face one, our guides explain the scores: SHL, CCAT, PI Cognitive and Thomas GIA; and the Wonderlic practice test drills the 12-minute format.
Each type has a fastest way in and a trap that costs people points. Knowing both is the cheapest time you can save on any logical reasoning aptitude test.
Fastest method: write the gaps between the terms. If the gaps have no pattern, split the list into every other term: two series may be woven together, each with its own rule. For letters, use their places in the alphabet.
Common trap: stopping at the first rule that fits two steps but not the third. More in our guide to finding the rule in number sequences.
Fastest method: follow one part of the picture at a time across all the frames (the arrow, then the dot, then the colour), name each rule, then put them together.
Common trap: choosing the option that is right on one rule and wrong on the other. Wrong options are built to be half right.
Fastest method: ask what is true inside each figure (dots match the corners, the two pieces are the same shape) rather than comparing figures with each other. The odd one breaks the rule, not the look.
Common trap: picking the figure that simply looks different. Good odd-one-out questions make every figure look different.
Fastest method: list every change from the first figure to the second (turned, mirrored, recoloured, reversed) and also what did not change. Then apply the whole list to the third figure.
Common trap: confusing a quarter turn with a mirror image. Check one corner of the figure: a turn keeps its neighbours in the same order, a mirror reverses them.
Fastest method: read the grid across the rows, then down the columns. Most grids carry two or three rules at once: something that changes along a row, something fixed per column, or a third cell made from the first two. See matrix puzzles: one rule you can say out loud.
Common trap: finding one rule and stopping. Check your answer against its row and its column.
You get one point for each correct answer, out of 30. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave a question blank.
On an employer’s logical reasoning test your result is usually turned into a percentile: how you did compared with a group of earlier test takers, such as graduates or managers. Each employer then sets its own pass mark. Our guide to SHL scores explains norm groups and percentiles.
This practice test does not have a norm group yet, so it shows your raw score out of 30: no percentile, and never an IQ. That keeps the number honest. What it tells you is just as useful for practice: how many you got right, how far you got, and how long you took.
The first questions are the easiest. If you reach question 20 with about 8 minutes left, you have time for the hard ones at the end.
About 40 seconds a question on average, but not evenly: the early questions take 20 seconds, the last ones a minute or more. Bank time early and spend it late.
The first eight questions are warm-ups. Answer them quickly and move on.
Aim to be past question 10. If you are not, start skipping anything slow.
Questions 20 to 30 have two or three rules each. Give each one up to a minute.
Wrong answers cost nothing. In the last minute, answer everything you skipped.
Practice helps. A review of 50 studies found that people score higher on average when they take a cognitive ability test again, and more when the retest follows coaching. [3] Most of that gain comes from familiarity and pace; see what practice actually changes.
Employers use logical reasoning tests early in hiring, often online right after an application, because they are quick, cheap to run and do not depend on a particular degree or language.
Do they work? Ability tests do predict job performance, but less strongly than older research claimed: a 2022 re-analysis of the evidence found earlier estimates for hiring methods were too high, and ranked structured interviews first, while concluding that the methods remain useful. [2] Read more in what a cognitive ability test at work actually predicts.
A logical reasoning test checks how well you find the rule behind a pattern and apply it to reach the right answer. Most employer versions are non-verbal: number and letter series, sequences of shapes, odd-one-out sets, analogies and matrices, under a time limit. No special knowledge is needed; what is measured is how quickly and accurately you spot the rule.
30 questions in 20 minutes, about 40 seconds a question. There are six of each type: number and letter series, figure series, odd one out, analogies and matrices. They start easy and get harder.
Yes. Taking the full 30-question test and seeing your score out of 30 is free, and so are the 10 sample questions with answers on this page. You enter a name and email so we can show and save your result; no payment or card is needed. A detailed report (score by question type, question-by-question review, pace and a practice plan) and a printable certificate are optional and paid.
The common types are number and letter series (what comes next), figure series (which picture comes next), odd one out (which figure breaks the rule), analogies (A is to B as C is to what) and matrices (which figure completes a grid). Some employers also use deductive or diagrammatic reasoning tests, described further up this page.
An inductive reasoning test shows you examples and asks you to find the rule, like the questions on this page. A deductive reasoning test gives you statements and asks what must follow from them, such as “all managers are engineers; Sam is a manager; so Sam is an engineer”. Many employers call both “logical reasoning”.
Nearly. “Abstract reasoning test” usually means the picture-based kind of logical reasoning test: series, odd one out and matrices made of shapes. This logical reasoning test includes those, plus number and letter series.
On an employer test, your result is usually a percentile: how you compare with a group of earlier test takers, and each employer sets its own pass mark. This practice test has no norm group yet, so it shows your raw score out of 30, never a percentile or an IQ. A useful aim is to reach all 30 questions and get most of the first 20 right.
One point for each correct answer, out of 30. Your score appears as soon as you finish, with how many questions you answered and how long you took. The optional report breaks the score down by question type.
No. A wrong answer and a blank both score zero, so it is always better to answer. If a question is taking too long, skip it and come back before the 20 minutes run out.
Practise the question types under a timer. Scores on cognitive ability tests rise on average when people take a test again, and more with coaching. Learn the common rules (turns, mirror images, counting, alternating steps) and say each rule in words before you look at the options.
The hardest part is usually the time limit and the unfamiliar format, not the logic itself. Each question needs only one or two rules, but you have well under a minute to find them. Practice with the real format removes most of the surprise.
No. This is an independent practice test with original questions written by IQ Metrics. It uses the same kinds of question that inductive and abstract reasoning tests from publishers such as SHL use, but it is not affiliated with or endorsed by SHL or any other test publisher.
The 10 sample questions on this page print with their answers: use the “Print or save as PDF” button above the samples. The full 30-question test is taken on screen, so it can be timed and scored at once.
No. It is the number of questions you answered correctly out of 30. Logical reasoning is one part of what IQ tests measure, but a short practice test like this cannot give an IQ, so we never show one.
30 logical reasoning questions, 20 minutes, easy to hard. Find a quiet spot, keep scrap paper handy, and see your score out of 30 free the moment you finish.
Start the 20-minute test →SHL, Watson-Glaser, CCAT, PI Cognitive Assessment and Thomas GIA are trademarks of their owners. IQ Metrics is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any test publisher. This is an independent practice test with original questions; its score is a practice score out of 30, not a publisher’s score and not an IQ.
