Free Spatial Reasoning Test
Twelve questions on the four skills most spatial reasoning tests use: 3D views, mental rotation, cube nets and counting cubes. You see the answer and the reason after each question, then your score by skill.
The test
12 questions, about 10 minutes
- 3 × top, front and side views
- 3 × mental rotation
- 3 × cube nets
- 3 × counting cubes
Untimed: a clock runs so you can see how long you took, but there is no time limit. You see the right answer and the reason after each question.
What the test covers
- Top, front and side views (3 questions). Match a solid made of cubes to its flat views, or find the missing one. This is the skill behind reading technical drawings. How to read the views.
- Mental rotation (3 questions). Pick the shape that is the same object turned, not its mirror image. Mental rotation practice.
- Cube nets (3 questions). Fold a flat net in your head and pick the cube it makes. Cube nets practice.
- Counting cubes (3 questions). Count every cube in a stack, including the ones you can't see. Counting cubes practice.
The standard version uses medium questions. The hard version uses bigger 4×4 stacks and longer shapes. Every question has exactly one right answer, and the explanation says why each wrong option fails.
How to read your score
Your total is out of 12, with a breakdown for each skill. Use the breakdown more than the total: most people are stronger at one or two skills, and the weakest one is where practice pays off fastest. Retake the test after a week of practice and compare both your score and your time.
This is a practice test, not a standardised one, so it doesn't give a percentile or an IQ. It does use the same question styles as many real tests, so it is a fair way to find out which kinds of question to work on.
Where you'll meet spatial reasoning tests
- School and selective entrance tests, often as part of non-verbal reasoning.
- Job aptitude tests for engineering, technical, design and trade roles.
- The Assembling Objects section of the US military ASVAB.
- The Perceptual Ability Test in the US Dental Admission Test, with view recognition, cube counting and pattern folding.
Tips for test day
- Rule out options first. One clear mismatch is enough to cross an option out.
- For views, check where the front is: in a top view it is at the bottom, in a left side view it is on the right.
- For rotation, follow the order of the turns from one end; a mirror image reverses it.
- For nets, find the opposite faces first: they can never be seen together.
- For counting, count stack by stack, never only the cubes you can see.
Want a new set every day? The daily 3D spatial reasoning test has five fresh questions each day, and the free printable PDF has more on paper.
Spatial reasoning test questions
What does a spatial reasoning test measure?
How well you can picture shapes in your head and work out how they look from another side, turned around, folded or stacked. This test checks four common skills: reading top, front and side views, mental rotation, folding cube nets and counting cubes, including hidden ones.
Is this an official or IQ test?
No. It is a free practice test in the same style as the spatial questions in many aptitude and entrance tests. Your score shows which skills you are strong at and which to practise; it is not a standardised score or an IQ.
How long does it take?
Most people finish the 12 questions in about 10 minutes. There is no time limit, but a clock shows how long you took so you can compare your next attempt.
Can you improve your spatial reasoning?
Yes. A large review of training studies (Uttal and colleagues, 2013) found that spatial skills improve with practice and that the gains last. Short, regular sessions on the skill you find hardest work well.
Which tests include spatial reasoning questions?
Many do: school entrance tests (for example non-verbal reasoning papers), job aptitude tests, the Assembling Objects part of the US military ASVAB, and the Perceptual Ability Test in the US Dental Admission Test, which includes view recognition, cube counting and pattern folding.