dMAT mock testsCore · 01

dMAT Figure Sequences

Figure Sequences is the first subtest of the dMAT Core Module: 20 items in 25 minutes. Each item shows a short row of matrices in which a figure changes from one to the next by a single consistent rule — it moves position, rotates, changes colour, or some combination. Your job is to work out the rule and pick the matrix that continues it. Nothing here is knowledge-based: there is no syllabus to revise, and the only thing that improves is how quickly you recognise a rule type you have seen before.

Items: 20
Time: 25 min
Per item: 75 sec

Format last checked against g.a.s.t. on 2 August 2026

How to approach figure sequences

There is no syllabus to revise for this subtest, so preparation means having a routine you can run without thinking. This is the order that wastes the least time at 75 seconds an item.

1
Read the change, not the picture
Compare matrix 1 to matrix 2 and name the difference out loud in your head — "moved two cells right", "rotated 90° clockwise", "shading flipped". A named change is testable against the next pair; a vague impression is not.
2
Confirm the rule on a second pair
A rule that explains matrix 1 → 2 but not 2 → 3 is the wrong rule. This is where most marks are lost: the first plausible pattern is often a coincidence, and checking one more pair costs about five seconds.
3
Number the cells for movement rules
For a 3×3 matrix, number the cells 1–9 left to right, top to bottom. A figure at 1, then 3, then 5 is advancing two positions each step — much easier to extend as arithmetic than as a picture.
4
Watch for two rules at once
Harder items combine a movement rule with a second change — the figure moves and its shading alternates. Track them separately, then apply both to the final matrix.
5
Eliminate rather than construct
If you know one property of the answer with certainty, discard every option that lacks it before working out the rest. On a single-choice paper with no negative marking, three eliminated options plus a guess beats an unfinished item.

Figure Sequences practice questions

Worked examples in the documented dMAT format, with the full reasoning underneath each one. Time yourself: 75 seconds per item is the pace the real clock allows.

These are practice questions written by AdmitVerse to the format g.a.s.t. publishes. They are not official or past dMAT papers — no past papers exist for this exam, since the first sitting is on 26 September 2026.

Q1 · Figure Sequences
In each matrix the shaded cell moves by the same rule. Which matrix comes next?
```
  1        2        3        4         ?
■ · ·    · · ■    · · ·    · · ·     · · ·
· · ·    · · ·    · ■ ·    · · ·     · · ·
· · ·    · · ·    · · ·    ■ · ·     · · ·
```
A· · · · · · · · ■
B■ · · · · · · · ·
C· · · · ■ · · · ·
D· · · · · · · ■ ·
Solution: Number the cells 1–9, left to right and top to bottom. The shaded cell sits at 1, then 3, then 5, then 7 — it advances two positions each step. The next position is 9, the bottom-right cell. In the real exam the matrices are drawn graphically rather than as text.
Q2 · Figure Sequences
The shaded cell moves and the row of dots below it shifts too. Which matrix comes next?
```
  1        2        3         ?
■ · ·    · ■ ·    · · ■     · · ·
· · ·    · · ·    · · ·     · · ·
· · ○    · ○ ·    ○ · ·     · · ·
```
A■ · · · · · · · ○
B· · · · · · · · ·
C■ · · · · · · ○ ·
D· · ■ · · · ○ · ·
Solution: Two rules run at once. The shaded square moves one cell right along the top row; from the third position it wraps back to the left. The circle moves one cell left along the bottom row and wraps back to the right. Applying both: square returns to top-left, circle returns to bottom-right. Items that combine two independent rules are where the subtest gets its difficulty — neither rule alone is hard.
Q3 · Figure Sequences
A figure rotates by a fixed amount each step. After the fourth matrix, which way does the arrow point?
```
  1        2        3        4         ?
  ↑        ↗        →        ↘         ?
```
A↓
B←
C↑
D↖
Solution: Each step rotates the arrow 45° clockwise: up → up-right → right → down-right. The next is straight down. Rotation items are usually the fastest marks in the subtest — convert the rotation to degrees immediately rather than trying to picture the turn.

What costs people marks here

Settling on the first rule that fits one pair, without checking a second.
Reading the sequence right-to-left because the answer looks neater that way.
Missing a second simultaneous rule — usually shading or rotation riding along with movement.
Spending three minutes on one stubborn item. At 75 seconds an item, that is two other questions you never reach.
Trying to hold the grid in your head. You may not take notes in the exam, so build the habit of tracking positions as numbers rather than as a mental image.

Know your pace before 26 September.

One exam date, one attempt, and no past papers. A timed mock is the only way to find out whether you are inside 75 seconds an item — free during early access.

Take a free Figure Sequences mock