What Is Actually on an IQ Test?

Most people picture an IQ test as a page of tricky puzzles. Some tests really are like that. The big clinical tests are quite different: they are spoken, one-to-one sessions that move between word questions, colored blocks, number strings and fast pencil-and-paper tasks.

This guide walks through what is in each of the major tests, what the questions look like (described in words, since the real items are protected), how long they take, and how the answers become a single score. We finish with what an online visual test like LifeScore's covers, and what it leaves out.

The big picture: what IQ tests sample

Almost every modern intelligence test is built on the same idea. People who do well at one kind of mental task tend to do well at others, so psychologists sample a range of tasks and combine them. Most tests aim at some mix of these abilities:

• Verbal comprehension: word knowledge and reasoning with words.
• Visual-spatial ability: seeing how shapes fit together and turn.
• Fluid reasoning: working out rules in new problems, such as pattern matrices.
• Working memory: holding information in mind while using it.
• Processing speed: doing simple tasks quickly and accurately.

The fewer of these a test samples, the more its score depends on one kind of skill. That is the main difference between a full clinical battery and a short puzzle test.

The WAIS: the standard adult test

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale is the most widely used adult IQ test. The current edition, the WAIS-5, was published by Pearson in 2024 for ages 16 to 90. It is given one-to-one by a qualified examiner, on paper or on two linked iPads.

The WAIS-5 has 10 primary subtests grouped into five index scores. Seven of them make up the Full Scale IQ. According to Pearson, the seven-subtest Full Scale IQ takes about 45 minutes, and all 10 primary subtests about 60 minutes.

Index	Primary subtests	What the tasks look like
Verbal Comprehension	Similarities, Vocabulary	Say how two words are alike; explain what words mean
Visual Spatial	Block Design, Visual Puzzles	Copy a pattern with colored blocks; pick pieces that make a shape
Fluid Reasoning	Matrix Reasoning, Figure Weights	Complete a grid pattern; balance a set of scales
Working Memory	Digit Sequencing, Running Digits	Put heard digits in order; recall the last digits of a list
Processing Speed	Coding, Symbol Search	Copy symbols paired with numbers; spot target symbols fast

The Full Scale IQ uses Similarities, Vocabulary, Block Design, Matrix Reasoning, Figure Weights, Digit Sequencing and Coding. The other primary subtests feed into the index scores, and a set of secondary subtests (including Information, Comprehension, Arithmetic and the new Set Relations) can be added for a fuller picture.

What changed from the WAIS-IV

The WAIS-IV (2008) is still in use in many clinics. It had four indexes rather than five: Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory and Processing Speed. Its Full Scale IQ came from 10 core subtests and took about 70 minutes, with Digit Span and Arithmetic as the core working memory tasks. The WAIS-5 split Perceptual Reasoning into Visual Spatial and Fluid Reasoning, cut the Full Scale IQ to seven subtests and added new tasks such as Running Digits and Set Relations.

The two editions are not interchangeable. In a 2024 study of 186 people who took both, the average Full Scale IQ was about 101.6 on the WAIS-IV and 99.7 on the WAIS-5, a small gap consistent with older norms becoming easier over time.

What the tasks feel like

Imagine an examiner asking how a river and a road are alike (Similarities), then what a word like "reluctant" means (Vocabulary). Next you arrange red-and-white blocks to copy a printed design against the clock (Block Design). Later you look at a grid of shapes with one missing and pick the piece that fits (Matrix Reasoning), or work out how many of one shape balance a set of scales (Figure Weights). The examiner reads strings of digits for you to repeat in order. Finally you have a couple of minutes to copy symbols into boxes as fast as you can (Coding). The mix keeps any single skill from dominating the score.

The Stanford-Binet Fifth Edition

The Stanford-Binet is the descendant of the first intelligence scale, built by Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon in 1905. The fifth edition (SB5), published in 2003 and now sold by Riverside Insights, covers ages 2 to 85 and over.

The SB5 measures five factors: fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing and working memory. Each factor is tested twice, once verbally and once nonverbally, giving 10 subtests, a Verbal IQ, a Nonverbal IQ and a Full Scale IQ. The publisher puts typical administration time at about five minutes per subtest. Like the WAIS, it is given one-to-one by a trained examiner and uses a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.

Raven's Progressive Matrices

Raven's matrices take the opposite approach: one kind of item, done many times. Each item is a pattern or grid with a piece missing, and you choose the piece that completes it from a set of options. There are no words, which is why it is often used where language would get in the way.

The classic Standard Progressive Matrices has 60 items in five sets of 12, getting harder within each set. The Advanced version adds harder items for able adults, and the Coloured version is for young children and older adults. The current Raven's 2 (2018) covers ages 4 to 85, can be given on paper or digitally, individually or in small groups, and reports a percentile rank.

Raven's measures fluid reasoning well, but it is only one slice of what a full battery covers. The Raven's Progressive Matrices guide explains the versions in more detail.

The Cattell Culture Fair test

Raymond Cattell designed the Culture Fair Intelligence Test to reduce the influence of language and schooling. Its adult scales use four short, strictly timed subtests, each lasting only a few minutes:

• Series: pick the figure that continues a sequence.
• Classifications: pick the figures that differ from the rest.
• Matrices: complete a grid pattern.
• Conditions: place a dot so that it sits in the same relation to a set of shapes as in an example.

Because the time limits are tight, speed matters as well as accuracy. Note that some Cattell scores are reported on a scale with a standard deviation of 24 rather than 15, so a Cattell 148 is the same level as a Wechsler 130. Our guide to whether 130 is a high IQ explains the conversion.

How the major tests compare

Test	Format	Typical time	Who gives it
WAIS-5 (ages 16 to 90)	10 primary subtests, verbal and nonverbal	About 45 min for FSIQ, 60 min for all primary	Qualified psychologist, one-to-one
Stanford-Binet 5 (ages 2 to 85+)	10 subtests, 5 factors, verbal and nonverbal	About 5 min per subtest	Trained examiner, one-to-one
Raven's 2 (ages 4 to 85)	Matrix puzzles only	Varies; can be timed or untimed	Qualified professional; individual or small group
Cattell Culture Fair	4 timed nonverbal subtests	A few minutes per subtest	Trained administrator; individual or group
Typical online test	Usually matrix or logic puzzles	5 to 30 minutes	Self-administered, unsupervised

How the answers become an IQ

The scoring process is the part most people never see, and it is where IQ gets its meaning.

1. Raw scores. Each subtest gives a raw score: items correct, sometimes with points for speed or for the quality of a spoken answer.
2. Scaled scores. Each raw score is converted using tables built from the norm sample, a large group chosen to match the population on things like age, sex, education and region. On Wechsler tests each subtest becomes a scaled score with an average of 10 and a standard deviation of 3, compared only with people your age.
3. Composite scores. The scaled scores are added up and converted again into index scores and a Full Scale IQ, each with an average of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. This is called a deviation IQ: it tells you how far you are from the average for your age.
4. Confidence interval. Good reports give a range, not just a number. Pearson's sample WAIS-5 report lists a Full Scale IQ of 111 with a 95% confidence interval of 106 to 116.

Without step two, a test has no real IQ score. It can only convert raw scores with a formula, which is what most online tests do.

Where an online visual test fits

The LifeScore IQ test is a 25-question online visual reasoning test, timed at about 12 minutes. It has five groups of five puzzles: pattern recognition, spatial reasoning, logical sequences, analogical reasoning and rule application. Here is a practice item in the same general style (it is not one of the test questions).

Compared with the WAIS, that covers roughly the territory of Matrix Reasoning and parts of Visual Spatial and fluid reasoning. It does not test vocabulary, verbal reasoning, general knowledge, auditory working memory or processing speed. The score is a simplified conversion onto the IQ scale (mean 100, SD 15), not age-adjusted and not norm-referenced against a representative sample. So it is a fair way to see how you handle Raven-style visual puzzles, and not a substitute for a full-scale IQ. If you are curious, you can try the 25-question visual reasoning test; for a sense of the harder end of these items, see our guide to hard IQ test questions.

Questions people ask

What kind of questions are on an IQ test?

Full tests mix verbal questions (what words mean, how two things are alike), visual puzzles (block designs, matrix patterns), memory tasks (repeating digits) and fast clerical tasks (copying symbols). Short tests often use only visual pattern puzzles.

How long does an IQ test take?

The WAIS-5 Full Scale IQ takes about 45 minutes, or about 60 minutes for all 10 primary subtests. A full appointment with breaks and history-taking usually runs longer. Online tests range from a few minutes to about half an hour.

Is there math on an IQ test?

Some. The WAIS-5 has Figure Weights and an optional Arithmetic subtest, and the Stanford-Binet has a quantitative reasoning factor. The math is basic; the difficulty is doing it in your head under time pressure.

Can you study for an IQ test?

You can get familiar with the formats, which helps a little, and scores usually rise slightly on a retest. Real test items are kept confidential, so the most useful preparation is a good night's sleep. See the practice IQ test questions for item types.

Are online IQ tests the same as real ones?

No. Real tests have a representative norm sample, a trained examiner and several kinds of task. Most online tests have none of these, so their scores are estimates.