Key takeaways: These 15 original practice questions span the four core reasoning types used across most IQ tests — numerical, logical, spatial, and applied. Work through each one before checking the explanation; understanding *why* an answer is correct is far more useful preparation than just checking whether you got it right.
How to Use These Questions
Don’t just scan for the answers. Try to solve each question first, under a bit of time pressure if you can manage it (aim for under a minute per question), then read the explanation regardless of whether you got it right. The goal here isn’t memorizing these specific 15 answers — none of them will appear on any real test — it’s building comfort with the reasoning patterns behind each question type, which transfers to any new, unfamiliar question you encounter later.
Numerical Reasoning
Question 1: What number comes next in this sequence? 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ___ *Answer: 42.* Look at the differences between consecutive terms: 4, 6, 8, 10 — each gap increases by 2. The next gap should be 12, so 30 + 12 = 42.
Question 2: What number comes next? 3, 9, 27, 81, ___ *Answer: 243.* Each term is multiplied by 3 to get the next one (a geometric sequence). 81 × 3 = 243.
Question 3: Find the missing number: 7, 14, 12, 24, 22, 44, ___ *Answer: 42.* Notice the pattern alternates between two operations: multiply by 2, then subtract 2, repeating. 7 ×2 = 14, 14 − 2 = 12, 12 ×2 = 24, 24 − 2 = 22, 22 ×2 = 44, 44 − 2 = 42.
Question 4: If the pattern 5, 10, 8, 16, 14, 28 continues, what’s the next number? *Answer: 26.* This alternates between multiplying by 2 and subtracting 2, same structural pattern as Question 3 but with different starting values — recognizing the *type* of pattern, not just memorizing numbers, is the actual skill being tested.
Logical Reasoning
Question 5: All Zibbles are Woggles. Some Woggles are Trundles. Which statement must be true? (a) All Zibbles are Trundles (b) Some Zibbles might be Trundles (c) No Zibbles are Trundles (d) All Trundles are Zibbles *Answer: (b).* Since all Zibbles fall inside the Woggle category, and some (not necessarily all) Woggles are Trundles, it’s possible that some Zibbles are among those Trundle-Woggles — but it’s not guaranteed, so “might be” is the only statement that must logically hold given the information provided. This tests careful attention to quantifiers (“all” vs. “some”) rather than making an assumption the premises don’t support.
Question 6: If it is true that “Whenever it rains, the ground gets wet,” and the ground is wet, can we conclude it rained? *Answer: No.* This is a classic logical trap (affirming the consequent). The original statement only tells us rain causes wet ground — it doesn’t rule out other causes of wet ground (a sprinkler, a spill). Wet ground is consistent with it having rained, but doesn’t prove it.
Question 7: Which word doesn’t belong: Trumpet, Violin, Flute, Drum, Piano? *Answer: Drum.* All the others are melodic instruments capable of playing a distinct sequence of pitched notes in a scale; a standard drum primarily produces rhythm rather than melodic pitch. This tests categorization based on a shared underlying property, not just surface similarity (all five are technically “instruments”).
Question 8: Complete the analogy: Author is to Book as Composer is to ___? *Answer: Symphony (or “musical composition”).* The relationship is “creator of a specific type of created work.” An author creates a book; a composer creates a musical composition. This tests recognizing the abstract relationship between the first pair and applying the same relationship to a new pair.
Spatial Reasoning
Question 9 (described in words): Picture a square divided into four smaller equal squares, arranged 2×2. The top-left square is shaded black, the top-right is white, the bottom-left is white, and the bottom-right is black. If you rotate the entire large square 90 degrees clockwise, which smaller square is now in the top-left position? *Answer: The square that was previously in the bottom-left position (originally white).* Rotating 90° clockwise moves each corner one position clockwise: bottom-left moves to top-left, top-left moves to top-right, top-right moves to bottom-right, and bottom-right moves to bottom-left. Tracking each corner’s movement individually, rather than trying to visualize the whole rotation at once, is a reliable strategy for this question type.
Question 10 (described in words): A cube has six faces, each painted a different color: red, blue, green, yellow, white, and black. You’re told the face opposite red is blue, and the face opposite green is white. If black is on top, which color is on the bottom? *Answer: Yellow.* A cube has exactly three pairs of opposite faces, and all six colors must be used, so once two pairs are known (red-blue and green-white), the two colors left over — black and yellow — must form the third pair by elimination. Since black is on top, yellow must be on the bottom, directly opposite it. This question tests systematic elimination: you don’t need to visualize the whole cube at once, just track which colors are already paired off and see what’s left.
Question 11 (described in words): A shape sequence shows a triangle, then a triangle with one additional dot added inside it, then a triangle with two dots, then three dots. If the pattern continues, how many dots appear in the fifth shape? *Answer: 4 dots.* The pattern adds exactly one dot per step, starting from zero in the first shape. Shape 1 = 0 dots, shape 2 = 1, shape 3 = 2, shape 4 = 3, so shape 5 = 4.
Question 12 (described in words): Imagine folding a flat piece of paper in half, then punching a single hole through both layers near the folded edge. When unfolded, how many holes will the paper have, and how will they be arranged? *Answer: Two holes, symmetrically placed on either side of the fold line, equidistant from it.* Since the hole punch goes through both layers at once, unfolding reveals two holes — one on each half — mirrored across where the fold was.
Applied Reasoning
Question 13: You have three boxes: one contains only apples, one contains only oranges, and one contains a mix of both — but all three labels are wrong. You may pick one fruit from one box (without looking inside) to correctly relabel all three boxes. Which box should you pick from, and why? *Answer: Pick from the box labeled “Mixed.”* Since every label is wrong, the box labeled “Mixed” must actually contain only apples or only oranges (not a mix). Whatever single fruit you draw from it tells you that box’s true contents. From there, logic forces the rest: the box labeled with the fruit you just identified as being in the “Mixed” box can’t actually be that fruit (labels are all wrong) and can’t be mixed either (only one box is mixed, and you just found it) — so it must be the mixed box. The remaining box is the last fruit by elimination.
Question 14: A store is deciding between two pricing strategies: a 20% discount applied once, or two consecutive 10% discounts. Which gives the customer a better final price, or are they the same? *Answer: The single 20% discount is better for the customer.* Two consecutive 10% discounts compound multiplicatively: $100 × 0.90 × 0.90 = $81, whereas a flat 20% discount gives $100 × 0.80 = $80. The single discount results in a lower final price. This tests recognizing that percentage discounts don’t simply add together when applied sequentially.
Question 15: You’re managing a small team and need to complete three tasks: Task A takes 2 hours and must be done before Task C can start. Task B takes 3 hours and can be done anytime. Task C takes 1 hour. If you have two people working in parallel, what’s the minimum total time to finish all three tasks? *Answer: 3 hours.* One person does Task A (2 hours) then Task C (1 hour) = 3 hours total on that track. The other person does Task B (3 hours) in parallel. Both tracks finish at the 3-hour mark, so the minimum total time is 3 hours — this tests recognizing dependency constraints (C can’t start before A finishes) while optimizing parallel resource use.
Why Explained Answers Matter More Than Just Checking Your Score
Notice that every explanation above focuses on the reasoning method, not just stating the correct choice. That’s deliberate — the actual skill an IQ test measures is your ability to apply a reasoning pattern to a problem you haven’t seen before. Reviewing *why* an answer works builds that transferable skill; memorizing that “the answer to question 4 was 26” does nothing for you on your actual test, where every question will be different.
Ready for a Full Assessment?
These 15 questions are a small, illustrative sample. If you want a complete, scored assessment covering these same four reasoning categories at a fuller scale — 36 questions total, with progressive difficulty and a full percentile breakdown — take the free IQ test directly. And if you want more structured preparation first, how to prepare for an IQ test covers realistic strategies beyond just working through sample questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these the same questions that appear on a real IQ test? No — these are original practice questions written to illustrate common reasoning patterns. Real test question banks are protected and rotated specifically to prevent this kind of direct reuse.
How many sample questions should I practice with before taking a real test? There’s no fixed number, but working through a range covering all major reasoning categories (numerical, logical, spatial, applied) is more useful than doing many repetitions of just one type.
Why did I get some of these wrong even though I understood the explanation afterward? That’s completely normal, especially on first exposure to a given question format. Recognizing the correct approach after seeing it explained is a real and useful part of building familiarity — the goal is that the *next* similar question feels more intuitive.
What’s the hardest question type for most people? This varies significantly by individual, which is exactly why a full test breaks results down by category rather than reporting one blended score — see what does an IQ test measure for more on why category-level results matter.
Can practicing sample questions actually raise my IQ score? Practice can improve your familiarity with question formats and reduce performance loss from unfamiliarity, which can meaningfully raise your measured score on a subsequent test. Whether it reflects a deeper change in underlying reasoning ability is a more complex question — see can you increase your IQ.