Kent Test-Style Section Mix 2
Kent Test-Style Section Mix 2 focuses on the non-verbal reasoning content of the Kent Test's Reasoning paper, which combines verbal and non-verbal reasoning within a single timed section on behalf of Kent County Council. Its questions test pattern, shape and spatial reasoning by describing shapes and patterns in words, such as the number of sides, dots or lines of symmetry, rather than showing pictures.
Method
- For any sequence of shapes, systematically compare shape to shape and note every way it changes: number of sides, number of dots or marks, size, shading, rotation and reflection, since a rule can involve more than one of these at once.
- State the rule to yourself in words before choosing or drawing the next shape, for example 'the number of sides increases by one each time and the shape rotates a quarter turn clockwise'.
- For 'odd one out' shape questions, check every shape against several possible rules (number of sides, symmetry, number of internal lines) rather than stopping at the first difference you spot, since the true odd one out is the shape that breaks the rule the others all share.
- For questions describing a net folding into a 3D shape, work out which faces end up opposite each other by tracking which faces share a fold line, rather than which faces are simply drawn next to each other on the flat net.
- Work through non-verbal reasoning questions quickly once you are confident in a rule, since these sections usually contain many short questions rather than a few long ones.
- If a shape-pattern rule is not clear after two comparisons, look for a rule based on repetition or alternation (such as a pattern that repeats every three shapes) rather than assuming the pattern must keep changing in the same direction.
Worked example
A sequence of shapes is described as follows. Shape 1: a triangle (3 sides) with 1 dot inside. Shape 2: a square (4 sides) with 2 dots inside. Shape 3: a pentagon (5 sides) with 3 dots inside. Describe Shape 4 in the sequence, giving both its number of sides and the number of dots inside it.
- Compare the number of sides across the sequence: 3, 4, 5. The number of sides increases by 1 each time.
- Compare the number of dots across the sequence: 1, 2, 3. The number of dots also increases by 1 each time.
- Apply both rules to find Shape 4's number of sides: 5 + 1 = 6, so Shape 4 is a hexagon.
- Apply the dots rule to find Shape 4's number of dots: 3 + 1 = 4 dots.
- Final answer: Shape 4 is a hexagon (6 sides) with 4 dots inside it.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1A sequence of shapes has 2, 4, 6, 8 lines of symmetry in that order. How many lines of symmetry does the next shape have?Show answer
Answer: 10 (the number of lines of symmetry increases by 2 each time).
Q2Four shapes are described: a shape with 4 equal sides and 4 right angles; a shape with 3 sides of equal length; a shape with 4 equal sides and 4 right angles shaded grey; a shape with 4 equal sides and 4 right angles rotated 45 degrees. Which shape is the odd one out?Show answer
Answer: The shape with 3 sides of equal length (a triangle); the other three all have 4 equal sides and 4 right angles (squares), just shaded or rotated differently.
Q3A cube's net has six square faces labelled A to F. Face A and face F share a fold line with no face between them once the net is folded. What can you say about faces A and F on the finished cube?Show answer
Answer: They end up as opposite faces of the cube (they do not touch).
Q4A pattern of shading alternates: black, white, black, white, black. What shading comes next?Show answer
Answer: White (the pattern alternates every shape).
Q5A shape rotates 90 degrees clockwise each step in a sequence. If the arrow on the shape currently points to the right, which direction did it point one step earlier?Show answer
Answer: Upwards (rotating 90 degrees clockwise from upwards gives right, so one step earlier it pointed upwards).
Q6A shape has 1 dot in step 1, 3 dots in step 2, and 5 dots in step 3. How many dots will step 5 have?Show answer
Answer: 9 (the number of dots increases by 2 each step: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9).
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
A sequence of shapes changes in two ways at once. The number of sides increases by 2 each time: Shape 1 is a triangle (3 sides), Shape 2 is a pentagon (5 sides). The number of dots doubles each time: Shape 1 has 1 dot, Shape 2 has 2 dots. Work out the number of sides and the number of dots for Shape 3, showing your reasoning for each.
Show mark scheme
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A net of six square faces is folded into a cube. On the flat net, the faces are arranged in a cross shape: a middle row of four faces labelled W, X, Y, Z from left to right, with a fifth face, T, attached above X, and a sixth face, B, attached below X. When the net is folded into a cube, name the face that ends up opposite W, and explain how you know.
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the kent test-style section mix 2 worksheet pack - 22 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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