6.1 Four-Figure Format and Feature Audit

Official format

Section 4 contains 14 questions in 32 minutes. Each question shows a top row containing four figures followed by a question mark. A second row supplies five possible fifth figures. The task is to identify what changes from one given frame to the next and select the only option that continues the same pattern.

The official guide says patterns may use shape, size, shading, location, orientation, number of objects, or a combination. It also warns that some features vary randomly and have no bearing on the pattern. There is one correct answer.

This format boundary is important. Preparation centered on missing cells in 3-by-3 matrices, Boolean row operations, or Latin-square grids teaches a different test. General visual reasoning may transfer, but the public UDEE blueprint is a four-frame sequence. Practice should look like the published task.

The feature audit

Before studying the answer choices, inventory each visible feature across Frames 1–4:

Do not assume all six matter. The audit creates candidate rules; repeated transitions confirm them.

Demand repetition

A rule should explain the movement from Frame 1 to 2, 2 to 3, and 3 to 4. If a feature changes one way once and another way later, it may be random or controlled by a more complex cycle.

Example: outer shapes are circle, triangle, square, star. With no repeated relationship, shape identity may be decoration. Meanwhile a single dark sector moves lower right → upper right → upper left → lower left. That position follows a consistent counterclockwise movement and predicts the next sector returns to lower right.

The official guide uses this exact kind of distinction: one worked example says shape changes have no bearing, while shading count and the differently shaded sector's location follow rules.

Independent variables

Many questions contain two or more rules operating at once. Track them separately:

• Variable A: majority shading alternates gray/white.
• Variable B: a unique sector moves one position counterclockwise.
• Variable C: outline shape changes randomly.

The next figure must satisfy A and B; C should not eliminate an option unless a real rule for C is found. This prevents an eye-catching shape from distracting you from stable movement and shading.

Use choices as tests, not as rule sources

First predict as much as possible from the sequence. Then inspect the five choices. Eliminate any choice violating a confirmed rule. If several remain, return to the given figures and search for a second feature.

Avoid inventing a complicated rule solely to justify one attractive option. A strong rule is simple, repeats across the four frames, and distinguishes the choices. If a proposed rule explains only the last transition, it is weak evidence.

A complete audit example

Suppose four frames show:

• Object count: 2, 3, 4, 5.
• Fill: solid, hollow, solid, hollow.
• Position: top, right, bottom, left.
• Shape: circle, star, triangle, oval.

Confirmed predictions for Frame 5 are six objects, solid fill, and top position. Shape has no evident sequence. A choice with five objects fails the count rule; a hollow choice fails shading; a bottom choice fails location. The remaining choice may use any outline shape if shape is truly random.

Timing method

The average is about 137 seconds per question, but use it flexibly:

1. Spend the first portion auditing features.
2. State one confirmed rule.
3. Predict the next state.
4. Eliminate choices.
5. Search for another rule only if more than one choice remains.
6. Verify the final choice against all four given frames.

If a rule still does not emerge, make the best supported choice; the official guide says guessing is not penalized. Do not let one item consume the time needed for several others.

Mastery standard

A correct solution should be explainable without pointing vaguely: "Count increases by one, fill alternates, and the marker moves clockwise; outline shape is random." Naming each relevant and irrelevant variable is more reliable than visual intuition alone.