Dot Placement Test

NON-VERBAL SERIES • ISSB PRACTICE

25 original figure-based practice questions with answers and explanations — built for ISSB screening and Pakistan Army, PAF and Pak Navy initial test preparation.

What Is a Dot Placement Test?

A dot placement test shows three overlapping shapes — in this test a circle, a square and a triangle — with dots placed on the figure. Each dot sits in a particular region: inside one shape only, inside two shapes where they overlap, or inside all three where they all cross. Your task is to study the exact region of every dot and then choose the one option figure in which the same dots could be placed in exactly the same regions, even though the shapes themselves have been rearranged.

Dot placement questions are a regular part of ISSB screening and of the initial tests of the Pakistan Army, the Pakistan Air Force and the Pak Navy, because they measure careful observation and logical checking without any language or mathematics. Candidates for PMA Long Course, PAF airman and aerotrade entries, and Pak Navy sailor and officer entries all meet this type. In the real Army initial test you may get less than a minute per question, so the winning habit is to check one dot at a time: name its region in the question figure, test that same region in each option, and reject any option where that region does not exist.

Tip 1: Name each region precisely — circle only, square and triangle only, or all three — before you look at the options.

Tip 2: Check the hardest dot first, usually the one in the smallest overlap, because it rejects the most options.

Tip 3: A region must exist in the option: if two shapes do not touch, no dot can sit in their overlap.

Tip 4: Work by elimination and keep to about 40 seconds per question in timed practice.

25 Practice Questions

In each question, study where every dot sits, then choose the option (A, B, C or D) in which all the dots can be placed in exactly the same regions. The full answer key with explanations follows the questions.

Question 1

Black dot: in the circle and square only. Gold dot: in the square and triangle only. Navy dot: in the circle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 2

Black dot: in all three shapes. Gold dot: in the square only. Navy dot: in the circle and square only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 3

Black dot: in the triangle only. Gold dot: in the circle only. Navy dot: in the square and triangle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 4

Black dot: in the square only. Gold dot: in all three shapes. Navy dot: in the circle and square only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 5

Black dot: in the square and triangle only. Gold dot: in the circle and square only. Navy dot: in the triangle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 6

Black dot: in the circle only. Gold dot: in the triangle only. Navy dot: in the circle and square only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 7

Black dot: in the circle and square only. Gold dot: in all three shapes. Navy dot: in the square only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 8

Black dot: in all three shapes. Gold dot: in the square and triangle only. Navy dot: in the circle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 9

Black dot: in the square only. Gold dot: in the circle and square only. Navy dot: in all three shapes. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 10

Black dot: in the triangle only. Gold dot: in the square and triangle only. Navy dot: in the circle and square only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 11

Black dot: in the circle only. Gold dot: in the square only. Navy dot: in all three shapes. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 12

Black dot: in the square and triangle only. Gold dot: in the circle only. Navy dot: in the circle and square only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 13

Black dot: in the circle and square only. Gold dot: in the triangle only. Navy dot: in all three shapes. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 14

Black dot: in all three shapes. Gold dot: in the circle only. Navy dot: in the square and triangle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 15

Black dot: in the square only. Gold dot: in the square and triangle only. Navy dot: in the triangle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 16

Black dot: in the circle and square only. Gold dot: in the square only. Navy dot: in the circle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 17

Black dot: in the triangle only. Gold dot: in all three shapes. Navy dot: in the circle and square only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 18

Black dot: in the square and triangle only. Gold dot: in the square only. Navy dot: in all three shapes. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 19

Black dot: in the circle only. Gold dot: in the circle and square only. Navy dot: in the square and triangle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 20

Black dot: in all three shapes. Gold dot: in the triangle only. Navy dot: in the square only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 21

Black dot: in the square only. Gold dot: in the circle only. Navy dot: in the circle and square only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 22

Black dot: in the circle and square only. Gold dot: in the square and triangle only. Navy dot: in the circle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 23

Black dot: in the triangle only. Gold dot: in the circle and square only. Navy dot: in the square only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 24

Black dot: in all three shapes. Gold dot: in the square only. Navy dot: in the square and triangle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Question 25

Black dot: in the square and triangle only. Gold dot: in all three shapes. Navy dot: in the circle only. In which option can all three dots keep the same regions?

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Answer Key with Explanations

Q	Answer	Explanation
1	B	Only B has a circle-and-square region, a square-and-triangle region and a circle-only region together.
2	C	Only C has a region common to all three shapes, which the black dot needs.
3	A	Only A keeps the square and triangle overlapping, so the navy dot’s region exists.
4	D	Only D has a region common to all three shapes for the gold dot.
5	B	Only B has both the square-and-triangle and circle-and-square overlaps.
6	A	Only A keeps the circle and square overlapping for the navy dot.
7	C	Only C has a region common to all three shapes, which the gold dot needs.
8	D	Only D has a region common to all three shapes for the black dot.
9	A	Only A has a region common to all three shapes for the navy dot.
10	B	Only B has both the square-and-triangle and circle-and-square overlaps.
11	D	Only D has a region common to all three shapes, which the navy dot needs.
12	C	Only C has both the square-and-triangle and circle-and-square overlaps.
13	B	Only B has a region common to all three shapes for the navy dot.
14	A	Only A has a region common to all three shapes, which the black dot needs.
15	D	Only D keeps the square and triangle overlapping, so the gold dot’s region exists.
16	C	Only C keeps the circle and square overlapping for the black dot.
17	A	Only A has a region common to all three shapes, which the gold dot needs.
18	B	Only B has a region common to all three shapes for the navy dot.
19	D	Only D has both the circle-and-square and square-and-triangle overlaps.
20	C	Only C has a region common to all three shapes, which the black dot needs.
21	A	Only A keeps the circle and square overlapping, so the navy dot’s region exists.
22	D	Only D has both the circle-and-square and square-and-triangle overlaps.
23	B	Only B keeps the circle and square overlapping for the gold dot.
24	C	Only C has a region common to all three shapes, which the black dot needs.
25	A	Only A has a region common to all three shapes for the gold dot.

More ISSB Non-Verbal Tests

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Dot Placement Test — 25 Practice Questions with Answers