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TITLE_PLACEHOLDER
Find the pattern in the 3x3 grid and circle which of the eight tiles belongs in the question-mark cell.
Practice and check
Worked example
Apply the same row and column rule to the missing cell. Compare each option with the required features.
[light gray, white, black, gray] → [gray, light gray, white, black] → [black, gray, light gray, white]
- [black, gray, light gray, white] → [white, black, gray, light gray] → [light gray, white, black, gray]
- [light gray, white, black, gray] → [gray, light gray, white, black] → black → gray → light gray → white
Check answers after trying
1: C 2: F 3: A
Printed order
Why this answer
- 1: C = [black, gray, light gray, white] A: [light gray, white, black, gray] ≠ [black, gray, light gray, white] B: [gray, black, white, light gray] ≠ [black, gray, light gray, white] D: [gray, black, light gray, white] ≠ [black, gray, light gray, white] E: [white, black, gray, light gray] ≠ [black, gray, light gray, white] F: [white, light gray, gray, black] ≠ [black, gray, light gray, white] G: [black, white, light gray, gray] ≠ [black, gray, light gray, white] H: [gray, light gray, white, black] ≠ [black, gray, light gray, white]
- 2: F = [white, black, gray, light gray] A: [light gray, white, black, gray] ≠ [white, black, gray, light gray] B: [black, gray, light gray, white] ≠ [white, black, gray, light gray] C: [white, light gray, gray, black] ≠ [white, black, gray, light gray] D: [light gray, gray, black, white] ≠ [white, black, gray, light gray] E: [gray, light gray, white, black] ≠ [white, black, gray, light gray] G: [black, white, light gray, gray] ≠ [white, black, gray, light gray] H: [black, white, gray, light gray] ≠ [white, black, gray, light gray]
- 3: A = [gray, white, black, light gray] B: [white, black, light gray, gray] ≠ [gray, white, black, light gray] C: [white, gray, black, light gray] ≠ [gray, white, black, light gray] D: [white, gray, light gray, black] ≠ [gray, white, black, light gray] E: [light gray, gray, white, black] ≠ [gray, white, black, light gray] F: [gray, light gray, black, white] ≠ [gray, white, black, light gray] G: [black, light gray, gray, white] ≠ [gray, white, black, light gray] H: [light gray, black, white, gray] ≠ [gray, white, black, light gray]
Tips for Parents
▸ Why It Matters Apply the same row and column rule to the missing cell. Compare each option with the required features. Worked example: [light gray, white, black, gray] → [gray, light gray, white, black] → [black, gray, light gray, white] ▸ Getting Started Before assuming your child can do this rotation entirely in their head, let them do it with their hands. Cut out or trace the shape from the first cell, then physically turn it to match what shows up in the second cell, and ask how far it turned. A clock face makes a handy shortcut: if a marked point on the shape moves from 12 to 3, that's a quarter turn; from 12 to 6, a half turn. Once your child can name the amount of turn between two cells, they can apply that same amount again to predict the third. ▸ If They Get Stuck Rotation problems feel overwhelming when a child tries to track a whole shape's outline at once. Narrow their focus instead: pick one obvious landmark — a dot, a notch, an arrow's point, or simply the longest edge — and ask only where that single landmark points in each cell, ignoring the rest of the shape. Following one point around a clock face is far easier than judging the rotation of an entire irregular shape, and it turns an abstract spatial puzzle into a simple, trackable question. ▸ Praise Points Praise the estimating process itself, not just a correct final answer, since learning to judge rotation accurately is the real skill here. Try: "You said it looked like it turned about a quarter turn each time, then checked that against the next cell to be sure — that's exactly how engineers and mathematicians think about angles, and it's a much better habit than just guessing which picture looks right."
What This Worksheet Builds
Builds rotational reasoning by tracking a shape as it turns a fixed number of degrees from cell to cell and predicting its orientation in the next cell.
Next Step
Once your child is comfortable with rotation, move on to Matrix Reasoning 8 (Arrow Rotation) for a purer angle challenge, or Matrix Reasoning 13 (Two-Rule Combination) to layer rotation with a second rule.