Puzzle #19: Exclusive Marks and Shapes
Hard · Combination · target time about 30 seconds
Which option completes the pattern?
How to solve it (answer: F)
The rule
The third panel in each row keeps the marks that appear in only one panel. Each row and column has one of each shape.
Step by step
- Compare the first two panels of the top row with the third.
- The middle row follows the same rule.
- Apply the same rule to the bottom row: the answer shows four marks around a hollow square.
- Check both rules: only one option fits them both.
Tip: Compare the first two panels mark by mark, then test each rule on the third panel.
Why the wrong options look right
The wrong options keep most of the pattern and change which marks are kept or the shape, so each one looks finished at a glance. Check both before you choose.
- Option A: It keeps every mark from both panels.
- Option B: It keeps only the marks both panels share.
- Option C: It forgets that the shape changes too: each row has one of each.
- Option D: It keeps every mark from both panels. It forgets that the shape changes too: each row has one of each.
- Option E: It keeps only the marks both panels share. It forgets that the shape changes too: each row has one of each.
About combination puzzles
Two cells combine into the third. Read the guide to combination puzzles for the method and the common traps.
More combination puzzles
- #5 · EasyAdding Marks
- #9 · MediumSubtracting Marks
- #13 · MediumShared Marks
- #17 · HardMarks in Only One
- #25 · MediumStars in Common
- #26 · MediumStars in Only One
This was one combination puzzle
The Cogniva test has 20 puzzles across four pattern types and gives you a free score band in about 7 minutes.
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