Analogies and Sequences Teaching Material

Scroll down for further teaching material and practice exercises.

Video

Analogies and sequences are designed to measure a person’s ability to reason. They are important components of general ability tests. Analogies tend to take the following format:

Telephone is to numbers just as keyboard is to:

- Letters
- Mouse
- Monitor
- Computer

Hat is to uniform just as engine is to:

- Steel
- Fast
- Car
- Movement

Dagger is to sheath just as pistol is to:

- Rifle
- Gun
- Bullet
- Holster

These types of questions test a person’s ability to find a relationship between two words or symbols and to apply this relationship to another set of words or symbols. What you have to do in these questions is determine a linking word between the first two words, and apply that word to the second two words. In the above examples:

Telephone uses numbers to dial just as keyboard uses letters to type.

Hat is part of a uniform, just as engine is part of a car.

Dagger is stored in a sheath, just as a pistol is stored in a holster.

Sample Questions

Attempt to solve the following questions using the above methodology. Answers are posted below.

1) Flowers are to petals just as windows are to:

a) sun
b) curtains
c) glass
d) wall

2) Waves are to shore just as knife is to:

a) butter
b) sheath
c) cut
d) blood

3) Oxygen is to fire just as water is to:

a) land
b) fish
c) earth
d) human

4) Read is to book just as ride is to:

a) cat
b) stove
c) television
d) horse

5) Doctor is to medicine just as sun is to:

a) leaves
b) ocean
c) warmth
d) dark

Answers

1) Glass

Flowers are made with petals just as windows are made with glass.

2) Butter

Waves cut into the shore just as a knife cuts into the butter.

3) Fish

Oxygen is required for fire to live just as water is required for fish to live.

4) Horse

Read is what you do to a book just as ride is what you do to a horse.

5) Warmth

Doctor distributes medicine just as sun distributes warmth.