Analogy Questions
A is to B as C is to ? Identify the relationship, transfer it to the new pair, and complete the analogy. Used in every major IQ and aptitude test.
Analogy Questions in IQ Tests
Analogy questions present a relationship between two terms and ask you to complete a parallel relationship: A is to B as C is to ?. They appear in virtually every major intelligence and aptitude test because they measure relational reasoning — the ability to identify abstract relationships and transfer them to new domains. This is a core component of general intelligence that predicts academic success, professional performance, and problem-solving ability across almost every field.
Visual analogies — which use images rather than words — test the same relational reasoning without requiring language skills or domain knowledge. The relationship between A and B might be a transformation (rotation, size change, element addition), a category relationship (container and contents), or a functional relationship (tool and its effect). Your task is to identify the precise nature of the A:B relationship and apply it to C to derive D.
Types of Analogy Relationships
Transformation Analogies
B is a transformed version of A — rotated, scaled, reflected, or modified by addition or removal of elements. The transformation from A to B must be applied identically from C to D. Identify the transformation precisely: not just "it rotated" but "it rotated 90 degrees clockwise and one line was removed."
Part-to-Whole and Category Analogies
A is a part of B (wheel : car), a member of B's category (dog : mammal), or a subcategory of B. These relationships require you to determine the hierarchical or compositional connection and find a D that stands in the same relationship to C — not merely in the same general domain.
Function and Use Analogies
A is used for B (key : lock), produces B (hen : egg), or is the instrument for achieving B. The precision of the functional relationship matters: "key : lock" is not the same as "key : door." Identify the narrowest possible description of how A relates to B before applying it to C.
Opposition and Degree Analogies
A is the opposite of B (hot : cold), a weaker or stronger version of B (warm : boiling), or a related contrast (question : answer). Degree analogies require you to match not just the direction of the relationship but its magnitude — "warm is to hot" is not the same relationship as "lukewarm is to boiling."
Frequently Asked Questions
How precisely should I state the A:B relationship before looking at the options?
As precisely as possible. Vague relationships like "A and B are similar" will match multiple answer choices. The more precise your statement — "B is A rotated 90 degrees clockwise with one element removed" — the more directly it eliminates wrong answers. Precision is the single most important skill in analogy reasoning.
What if my derived D is not among the answer choices?
Re-examine the A:B relationship. You have likely identified a relationship that is correct but not specific enough, allowing multiple Ds to seem valid. Tighten the relationship description: add a dimension you missed (size, orientation, count) until only one of the given options matches.
Do analogy questions appear on non-verbal IQ tests?
Yes, frequently. Visual analogy matrices are a staple of non-verbal tests including Raven's Progressive Matrices and many employer cognitive assessments. The format typically shows A, B, and C as images, with four or five image options for D. The reasoning process is identical to verbal analogies — only the medium changes.
How do analogy questions differ from pattern recognition questions?
Pattern recognition questions find a rule that governs an entire grid. Analogy questions find a directed relationship between a specific pair and transfer it to a new pair. Both require rule extraction, but analogies test directional and relational reasoning rather than the grid-wide consistency that pattern questions demand.