Non-Verbal Reasoning · Transformations

Rotation 11+ practice

Track orientation and marked features through rotations without reflecting them.

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The key idea

Understand the rule first

Choose one distinctive direction or corner and move it through the stated turn. A quarter-turn is 90°, a half-turn is 180°, and rotation preserves handedness.

Worked example

An arrow points up. Rotate it a quarter-turn clockwise.

A quarter-turn is 90°.
Clockwise moves up towards the right.
The arrow finishes pointing right.

right

Watch for this

A common misconception

Flipping the figure as in a mirror instead of turning it around a point.

Reusable method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.

Question 1 of 10
Non-Verbal Reasoningcore
A triangle points right. After a quarter-turn clockwise, where does it point?
- Aup
- Bleft
- Cright
- Ddown
Need a hint?
Turn right towards the bottom.
Show worked answer
Answer D: down
A 90° clockwise rotation changes right to down.
Quick method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.
Question 2 of 10
Non-Verbal Reasoningcore
A mark is at the bottom-left of a square. After a half-turn, where is it?
- Atop-right
- Btop-left
- Cbottom-right
- Dbottom-left
Need a hint?
A half-turn swaps both vertical and horizontal positions.
Show worked answer
Answer A: top-right
Bottom-left becomes top-right.
Quick method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.
Question 3 of 10
Non-Verbal Reasoningcore
An arrow points down. After three quarter-turns clockwise, where does it point?
- Adown
- Bleft
- Cup
- Dright
Need a hint?
Three clockwise quarter-turns equal one anticlockwise quarter-turn.
Show worked answer
Answer B: left
Down rotated 270° clockwise points left.
Quick method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.
Question 4 of 10
Non-Verbal Reasoningexam-style
A shape faces left. It rotates 450° clockwise. Which direction does it face?
- Aleft
- Bdown
- Cup
- Dright
Need a hint?
Remove the full 360° turn first.
Show worked answer
Answer C: up
450° is 360° + 90°. Left turned 90° clockwise points up.
Quick method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.
Question 5 of 10
Non-Verbal Reasoningexam-style
A dot begins at the top-right of a square and moves to bottom-right. What single rotation caused this?
- A90° anticlockwise
- B180°
- C270° clockwise
- D90° clockwise
Need a hint?
Track the top-right corner around the centre.
Show worked answer
Answer D: 90° clockwise
A 90° clockwise turn moves top-right to bottom-right.
Quick method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.
Question 6 of 10
Non-Verbal Reasoningcore
An arrow points up. It is rotated 90° clockwise. Which way does it point?
- Aup
- Bleft
- Cright
- Ddown
Need a hint?
A clockwise quarter-turn moves the top towards the right.
Show worked answer
Answer C: right
After a 90° clockwise rotation, an upward arrow points right.
Quick method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.
Question 7 of 10
Non-Verbal Reasoningcore
A dot is in the top-left corner of a square. The square rotates 180°. Where is the dot?
- Atop-left
- Btop-right
- Cbottom-left
- Dbottom-right
Need a hint?
A half-turn moves each corner to the opposite corner.
Show worked answer
Answer D: bottom-right
Top-left moves to bottom-right after a 180° rotation.
Quick method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.
Question 8 of 10
Non-Verbal Reasoningcore
An arrow points south-east. It rotates 90° anticlockwise. Which way does it point?
- Anorth-east
- Bsouth-west
- Cnorth-west
- Dsouth-east
Need a hint?
Move the direction one quarter-turn to the left.
Show worked answer
Answer A: north-east
A 90° anticlockwise turn moves south-east to north-east.
Quick method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.
Question 9 of 10
Non-Verbal Reasoningexam
A square has a thick top edge and a dot in its bottom-left corner. It rotates 90° clockwise. Where are the thick edge and dot now?
- Aleft edge; bottom-right
- Bright edge; top-left
- Cbottom edge; top-right
- Dright edge; bottom-left
Need a hint?
Track the edge and the corner separately through the same turn.
Show worked answer
Answer B: right edge; top-left
The top edge moves to the right edge. The bottom-left corner moves to the top-left corner.
Quick method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.
Question 10 of 10
Non-Verbal Reasoningstretch
A shape initially points north. It rotates 90° clockwise, then 180° anticlockwise, then 270° clockwise. Which way does it finally point?
- Anorth
- Beast
- Csouth
- Dwest
Need a hint?
Combine the signed turns or track them one at a time.
Show worked answer
Answer C: south
North turns to east, then west, then south. Equivalently, the net turn is 180°, so it finishes south.
Quick method: Track one distinctive corner or mark.

Understand the rule first

An arrow points up. Rotate it a quarter-turn clockwise.

A common misconception

A triangle points right. After a quarter-turn clockwise, where does it point?

A mark is at the bottom-left of a square. After a half-turn, where is it?

An arrow points down. After three quarter-turns clockwise, where does it point?

A shape faces left. It rotates 450° clockwise. Which direction does it face?

A dot begins at the top-right of a square and moves to bottom-right. What single rotation caused this?

An arrow points up. It is rotated 90° clockwise. Which way does it point?

A dot is in the top-left corner of a square. The square rotates 180°. Where is the dot?

An arrow points south-east. It rotates 90° anticlockwise. Which way does it point?

A square has a thick top edge and a dot in its bottom-left corner. It rotates 90° clockwise. Where are the thick edge and dot now?

A shape initially points north. It rotates 90° clockwise, then 180° anticlockwise, then 270° clockwise. Which way does it finally point?

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