Patterns combined: how the rule works in matrix tests

How the rule works

The third cell in every row is the first two laid on top of each other. Everything found in either of them is found in the third. The rule applies to lines along the edge, filled sectors in a wheel and arrows from the centre, and it holds in the columns too.

What separates it from patterns cancelling out is what happens to the parts present in both cells: here they are kept. Once you have decided which of the two applies, you have in practice solved the task.

Solved example

The bottom right cell is the answer, marked. The explanation below the matrix is the same text the app gives.

Rules in the example

The third cell is the first two laid on top of each other. Every line is kept. This holds in rows and columns.
Everything else is the same in every cell.

Level 2 in the app. The same example is shown in the app after a wrong answer on this rule. Rules in the example: Patterns combined.

How to recognise it

Is the third cell in the first row denser than the two before it? Count the lines or sectors.
Is something present in both cell one and two? Check that it is also in cell three.
Combine the first two cells in the last row in your head. That is the answer.

More about the format: what a matrix reasoning test is and how logical reasoning tests are used in recruitment.

Practise for real.

In the app the tasks are generated on the phone and the answer explains every rule. Five tasks are free; the rest unlocks with a one-time purchase.

Get it on the App Store

Requires an iPhone with iOS 17 or later.