CAT4 sample questions, with worked answers

B. All three are solid (filled in). Their shape, size and dots all change, so those do not matter. B, the solid hexagon, is the only solid option.

1. List what changes between the three: shape (triangle, circle, star), size and dots. Those cannot be the link.
2. List what stays the same: all three are solid.
3. Only B is solid. D is half shaded, which is not the same.

The trap: E, an outline star with one dot, copies the third figure's shape and dot. Matching one figure is not matching the link all three share.

D. Across the row the outline shape becomes solid. Down the column the square becomes a triangle. So the empty square is a large solid triangle: D.

1. Across the top row: same square, outline turns solid.
2. Down the left column: same outline, square turns into triangle.
3. Do both to the top-left figure: a large solid triangle. That is D.

The trap: C, a small solid triangle, gets both changes right but also shrinks. Check every detail of your answer, including size.

A. All three are small; the shapes, shading and dots change, so they do not matter. Only A, a small solid triangle with two dots, has that. B is a large outline circle with one dot; C is a large solid triangle with one dot; D is a large outline square with three dots; E is a large outline triangle with two dots: each one breaks the link.

A. All three are large and solid: you need both. The shapes and dots change, so they do not matter. Only A, a large solid triangle with one dot, has that. B is a large outline hexagon; C is a large outline hexagon with two dots; D is a large outline pentagon with two dots; E is a large outline hexagon with one dot: each one breaks the link.

C. Across each row, the shading swaps between solid and outline. Down each column, the figure swaps between large and small. So the empty square needs a small solid square with one dot: C.

B. Across each row, the arrow turns a quarter turn clockwise. Down each column, the figure swaps between large and small. So the empty square needs a large solid arrow pointing up with two dots: B.

B: haddock. Trout, salmon and cod are all fish, and so is haddock. An otter and a seal live in water and eat fish, but they are mammals.

1. Name the group in as few words as you can: "fish".
2. Test every option against the name, not against a vague feeling of "water things".
3. Only haddock is a fish.

The trap: Picking otter or seal because they live in water too. The link is what the three are, not where they live.

C: gigantic. Huge, vast and enormous all mean very big, and so does gigantic. Tiny is also a size word, but it means the opposite.

1. Find what the three words share: they all mean "very big".
2. Check each option means the same, not just that it is about size.
3. Gigantic means very big; tiny means very small, heavy is about weight, tall is about height.

The trap: Choosing "tiny" because it is a size word like the others. CAT4 puts an opposite among the options on purpose.

C: Berlin. Paris, Rome and Madrid are capital cities, and so is Berlin. Spain is a country and Europe a continent: linked to the three, but not the same kind of thing.

1. Say what the three are: capital cities.
2. Rule out words that are only connected to them (a country, a continent, a language).
3. Berlin is the only capital city.

The trap: Picking "Spain" because Madrid is in it. Being linked to the group is not the same as belonging to it.

B: cat. A puppy grows up to be a dog; a kitten grows up to be a cat. The link runs from young to adult, in that order.

1. Make a sentence for the first pair: "a puppy grows up into a dog".
2. Use the same sentence on the second: "a kitten grows up into a ___".
3. Only "cat" fits.

The trap: "Cub" is another young animal: right family of words, wrong direction. Keep the sentence the same way round.

C: symphony. An author writes a book; a composer writes a symphony. The link is "person and what they create".

1. Sentence for the first pair: "an author writes a book".
2. Same sentence: "a composer writes a ___".
3. A symphony is written; a piano is played, an orchestra performs and a conductor leads.

The trap: "Piano" is strongly linked to a composer, but it is a tool, not the thing made. The strongest link is not always the same link.

B: end. Begin means the same as start, and finish means the same as end.

1. The first pair are two words that mean the same.
2. Find the word that means the same as "finish".
3. "End" does; "race" and "line" go with finish in a different way ("finish line").

The trap: Choosing "line" because "finish line" is a common phrase. The link in the first pair is "same meaning", not "words that go together".

E: barge. Ship, yacht and raft are all vessels that travel on water, and so is barge. None of the other words is.

E: amethyst. Ruby, sapphire and emerald are all gemstones, and so is amethyst. Copper is close, but it is one of the metals.

D: train. The link: a step is part of a staircase. In the same way, a carriage is part of a train.

B: rich. The link: reply means the same as answer. In the same way, wealthy means the same as rich.

C: 24. The rule is multiply by 3: 3 → 9, 5 → 15, so 8 → 24.

1. Try the simplest rule on the first pair: 3 to 9 could be "add 6" or "times 3".
2. Test both on the second pair: 5 + 6 = 11, not 15; 5 × 3 = 15. So it is "times 3".
3. Use it on 8: 8 × 3 = 24.

The trap: 14, from "add 6", which works for the first pair only. Always check the rule on both pairs.

C: 21. The rule is double it, then add 1: 4 → 9, 6 → 13, so 10 → 21.

1. The gaps are +5 and +7, so it is not a plain add.
2. Doubling gets close: 8 and 12, each one short. So double, then add 1.
3. 10 doubled is 20, plus 1 is 21.

The trap: 15, from "add 5", or 20, from doubling and stopping. Two-step rules need both steps.

C: 27. Each number is 4 more than the one before, so the next is 23 + 4 = 27.

1. Write the gaps: +4, +4, +4, +4, +4.
2. The gap is always 4.
3. 23 + 4 = 27.

The trap: Rushing and adding 3, the first number, instead of the gap.

B: 33. The gaps grow by one each time: +1, +2, +3, +4, +5, so the next gap is +6 and the next number is 33.

1. Gaps: +1, +2, +3, +4, +5.
2. The gaps go up by 1 each time, so the next gap is +6.
3. 27 + 6 = 33.

The trap: 32, from repeating the last gap of +5. When the gaps change, look at the gaps themselves as a series.

D: 8. The steps take turns: add 3, take away 1, add 3, take away 1. After 9 comes a "take away 1", so the answer is 8.

1. Gaps: +3, −1, +3, −1, +3.
2. They alternate, and the next one is −1.
3. 9 − 1 = 8.

The trap: 12, from adding 3 again. In a zig-zag series, check which step comes next.

E: 32. The rule is "add 20": 7 → 27 and 14 → 34. So 12 → 32.

B: 36. The rule is "add 2, then multiply by 3": 18 → 60 and 30 → 96. So 10 → 36. Check a rule on both pairs before you use it: "add 42" fits the first pair but not the second.

B: 100. The rule: add 13 each time. So the next number is 100.

D: 127. The rule: double the number, then add 1. So the next number is 127.

B. The punch goes through both layers, so there are two holes. Unfolding mirrors the hole across the fold line in the middle: one in column 4 and one in column 1, both in row 2. That is B.

1. Count the layers: one fold makes two layers, so one punch makes two holes.
2. The hole is one cell in from the right edge, so its partner is one cell in from the left edge.
3. Same row, mirror position: row 2, columns 1 and 4. That is B.

The trap: D puts the second hole next to the fold. A mirror image is the same distance from the fold line on the other side, not beside it.

C. The shape is a flag with a V-shaped notch cut into its right side. C has it, at the same size, with the notch on the right. A has it turned so the notch is at the bottom, B mirrored, D upside down, and E twice the size.

1. Pick one feature of the target to hunt for: the notch on the right-hand side.
2. Check each design for that notch, pointing the same way and the same size.
3. Only C has it; A, B and D have it facing the wrong way, and E's is twice as big.

The trap: E, because it is clearly the same shape. CAT4 asks for the same size as well as the same way round.

C. Unfold one step at a time, last fold first: each hole gets a partner mirrored across the fold line. Undoing the fold gives 4 holes, at row 1 column 1, row 2 column 4, row 3 column 4, row 4 column 1: C. An answer with only the punched holes forgets the layer underneath.

D. Unfold one step at a time, last fold first: each hole gets a partner mirrored across the fold line. Undoing every fold gives 4 holes, at row 2 column 1, row 2 column 4, row 3 column 1, row 3 column 4: D. An answer with fewer holes forgets a fold.

E. The shape is in design E, the same size and the same way round. A has the shape turned a quarter turn; B has the shape turned a quarter turn the other way; C has the shape upside down; D has a mirror image of the shape: close, but not the same outline.

D. The shape is in design D, the same size and the same way round. A has the shape turned a quarter turn the other way; B has the shape mirrored and turned; C has the shape turned a quarter turn; E has the shape upside down: close, but not the same outline.