Spatial reasoning

The spatial reasoning test measures your spatial skills. You may come across many different cube tests. However, the most common variants are: open cubes, closed cubes, and turning/tilting cubes.

• • Open cubes: In this variant, you are shown a closed cube and presented with several open cubes as answer options: one of these corresponds with the closed cube. It is up to you to choose the right open cube.
  • Closed cubes: This variant is the opposite of the previous one. For each question, you are shown an open cube and presented with several closed cubes as answer options: one of these corresponds with the open cube. It is up to you to choose the correct closed cube.
  • Tilting/turning cubes: In this variant, you are shown a closed cube, but the answer options are also closed cubes. One of these answers is a tilted or rotated version of the first closed cube. It is up to you to turn or tilt the example cube in your head so that it corresponds to one of the answer options. The answers are frequently similar, which creates some doubt. If you think that two answer options might both be correct, something went wrong while you were tilting! Think carefully about where each surface ends up as you turn the cube in your head.

Sample problems

To give you an idea of what a cube problem might look like, here are some examples of the “closed cube” type.

The correct answer to this problem is A. When you close the cube, the small pink square touches the blue surface in the lower right corner.

The correct answer to this problem is A. Turn the unfolded figure a quarter turn to the left. The blue rectangle is then at the top and doesn’t touch the narrower purple triangle.

The correct answer to this last sample problem is option A again. Rotate the unfolded figure. The small triangle borders on the six-pointed star at the top and on the ten-pointed star to the right.

Tips for solving cube problems

• Practice, practice, practice! This gets you acquainted with the various problems you may encounter and teaches you how to create a strategy. Do you reach answers more quickly by comparing answer options or does it work better when you fully unfold the cube in your head? By working on lots of problems, you will figure out what method suits you best and then you can move through the problems more quickly and with more self-confidence.
• Don’t let yourself get stuck. Can’t figure a problem out? Make an educated guess and then move on to the next one. Working on the same cube problem for too long, usually makes it less likely for you to solve it. During an aptitude test, you are being timed and that time is much better spent working on the next cube problem. If you guess and move on to the next question, you will be shown a new cube, which serves as an impulse for your brain to apply your problem-solving strategy to the new figure. Doesn’t that seem like a better choice?
• Follow your intuition. Don’t start unnecessarily doubting your answer because you know that only one option is correct. Unless you are stuck between two answers, it is most likely that the option you think is correct, is actually the right one. Don’t look at the other options for too long, otherwise you might lose your confidence by obsessing over small details.

Practice makes perfect!

It is very important to practice for a capacity test. If you do not practice, your score may be lower and this decreases your chances of getting that much-desired job! By practicing, you can solve problems more quickly and efficiently, so that your score will increase.

You can start preparing for this aptitude test right away:
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