IQ test question examples
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 09, 2014 09:08 AM

IQ tests measure a person's intelligence using a series of questions. These questions come in several forms and assess various skills that together constitute intelligence. Types of questions include analogies (mathematical and verbal), patterns, logical, visual, spatial and classification. Here are a few examples of questions a test taker may encounter:

Complete the pattern
This task can include shapes or numbers, but in either case, you must finish a pattern based on established variables. For instance, a numerical pattern might look like this: 37, 34, 31, 28. Which number comes next? By noting that each successive number decreases by 3, you'll know the next number should be 25.

When the variables are images, you might see a square, circle and triangle repeating in a certain order. Then, you may be given a line of images that has only two of the three shapes, which means the correct answer would be the missing shape. 

Analogy questions
Many students learn analogies in school, and they are common on IQ tests. These questions assess a person's logical analysis skills. Here's an example: Leaf is to tree as button is to?

1. Coat
2. Sewing
3. Thread

Leaves are a smaller part of a whole, the tree. As such, the button must be a smaller part of something - in this case, a coat. You can also have numerical analogies, such as 8:4 as 10:?

1. 3
2. 7
3. 5
4. 15

To figure out the answer, you have to look at the relationship between the two numbers - 4 is half of 8, so you must find half of 10, which is 5. 

Word play
By understanding patterns in language you can complete a task that requires you to form words. You may see something like: What three-letter word, when placed in front of these examples, can be used to create a new word out of the following? Sign, script, scribe.

Knowing that you have to put a word in front of the ones you were given should give you a clue - you're looking for a prefix. Next you need to think of prefixes that are three letters long and create words out of the ones you were given. If you thought of "con," you were correct.

Out of place
Some tests may give you one shape that is arranged and presented in different positions. The way the images are laid out may cause each to look like the same identical shape, but one is in fact different. For instance, you may see what looks like the number 7 laying on its side or upside down. But on closer inspection, you might note that one of the 7s is backward, and therefore is the one that does not belong.