mechanical · 26 minutes · Official OETT Aligned
Matching Shapes & Views
Turn a shape in your mind and check its features
What to know
- rotation: turning a shape
- reflection: making a mirror image
- front, side, and top views
- corners, holes, and notches
These questions ask whether a shape still matches after it is turned or viewed from another side.
The core rule
Track a clear feature, such as a hole or notch. Turning a shape keeps its features in the same order; mirroring reverses that order.
Start by counting the corners, holes, or blocks. Pick one feature that stands out and follow it as you turn the whole shape in your mind. Check which features are next to each other. For top and side views, compare the number and position of stacked blocks.
Worked examples
Example 1: easy
A rotated L-shape keeps its inside corner relationship.
- Choose the inside corner of the L-shape as your reference.
- Turn the whole shape together and check which edges still meet at that corner.
Turning preserves which parts of the shape are connected.
Example 2: medium
A mirror image reverses the side of an offset hole.
- Find the off-center hole and note where it sits beside the other features.
- A mirror image reverses that order. Turning the picture keeps the order.
Compare the hole with nearby shape features to tell a rotation from a mirror image.
Example 3: hard
Match a 3D block to top and side views by counting stacked squares at each position.
- For the top view, mark where each stack of cubes stands.
- For the side view, compare the heights of the stacks visible from that side. Check both views against the choices.
Using two views rules out shapes that only match from one side.
Common mistakes
A mirror image is always the same as a rotated picture.
Turning a picture does not reverse the order of its features. A mirror image can, so check the hole or notch carefully.
Put it into practice
Use guided explanations, check your answers, and try a new variation.