Embedded Figures
🔒 Log in to trackWhich figure contains the given part
🔒 Log in to trackThe reverse form: one small figure is given and each option is a bigger figure. Choose the option in which the small figure appears as it is.
Scan each option for the part's key stroke, then confirm the rest. Options that nearly contain it usually lack one line or have it running the other way.
Detailed notes
The task
The question gives a small part; each option is a bigger figure. Exactly one option contains the part inside it, with the same strokes, lengths and directions, anywhere among extra filling lines. Rotation is not allowed - a turned copy of the part does not count.
Check stroke by stroke
Write down the part's strokes with their directions, say 2 horizontal, 1 vertical and 1 slant. The correct option must show all of them, connected in the same way, just shifted. Sliding is allowed; turning is not. Extra strokes in the option are fine - the part only needs to be present, and filling lines never disqualify an option.
Use anchors
A slant is rarer than a horizontal or vertical, so start there: check its lean (/ has its lower end on the left, \ has its lower end on the right), then find where it sits in the option. A T-joint - one stroke ending on the middle of another - is the second-best anchor. Parts often sit along an edge or in a corner of the correct option, so scan the border first when the part has a flat side.
Near-miss figures
Most wrong options are built one stroke away from the part: one stroke missing, one slant re-angled (a / swapped for a ), or one stroke replaced (a horizontal where the part has a vertical). This is why a quick count is not enough - the wrong option has the same number of strokes as the part. Check the endpoints: each stroke must begin and end where the part's strokes begin and end, relative to each other.
Method in the exam
- Count and list the part's strokes with directions.
- In each option, find the anchor stroke with the right lean.
- Around it, check the remaining strokes in order, endpoint to endpoint.
- Left with two finalists? Compare the strokes touching the anchor first; the difference is usually one re-angled slant.
- Never reject an option for having extra lines.
Worked example
Part: a horizontal stroke, a vertical stroke down from its left end, and a / slant from the horizontal's right end to the vertical's bottom. One option holds all three in its lower-left; another has the same box but the slant leans the other way (\ instead of /); a third has no vertical at all. Only the first option contains the part.
Common mistakes
- Rejecting the correct option because of extra filling strokes.
- Accepting an option whose copy of the part is turned through 90 degrees.
- Counting strokes only - a one-stroke swap keeps the count but breaks the shape.
- Checking the slant's length but not its lean.
Quick revision
- The part must appear complete: same strokes, same directions, only shifted.
- Extra filling strokes never disqualify an option.
- Anchor on slants and T-joints; scan edges and corners first.
- Wrong options are usually one stroke away: missing, re-angled or replaced.
- A / and a \ are different strokes; direction decides.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: Part among busy figuresvery common2 practice Q
Four options of similar density, each full of short strokes.
Anchor on the part's rarest stroke and trace; only one option completes all strokes.
Example: Q. A 4-stroke part must be found inside one of four busy 3 x 3 figures.
Trace from the slant anchor; three options miss at least one stroke.
Type 2: One-stroke-difference optionsvery common2 practice Q
Every option has the same stroke count as the part but one stroke differs (missing, re-angled or replaced).
Counting is not enough; check each stroke's direction and endpoints against the part.
Example: Q. Four options each have 5 strokes like the part; only one arranges them as the part does.
The / vs \ lean and one horizontal-vs-vertical swap separate the wrong three.
Type 3: Part along an edge or cornercommon2 practice Q
The part has a flat side (two or more horizontal strokes), and options place it along a border.
Scan the option's border first; the part usually sits against an edge, not in the middle.
Example: Q. The part's flat base sits on the lower-left corner of the correct option.
Border scan finds the full part; the middle of the other options only shows part of it.
Type 4: Slant strokes as anchorscommon2 practice Q
The part carries two or more slants; options differ in slant leans.
Fix each slant's lean first, then check which straight strokes touch its ends.
Example: Q. A part with two slants of opposite lean hides in one of four options.
Only one option shows both leans with the connecting strokes; the rest flip at least one slant.
Type 5: Two finalistscommon2 practice Q
After the first pass two options survive; the filler strokes make them look equal.
Compare the strokes touching the anchor first - the loser breaks one endpoint or re-angles one slant.
Example: Q. Two options both show a / slant with a horizontal at its foot; only one adds the part's vertical.
The extra stroke at the slant's top decides; the loser is one stroke short.
Type 6: Sparse optionsoccasional2 practice Q
Options are lightly drawn (few filling strokes), so the part stands out.
Still trace stroke by stroke - sparse options often drop exactly the stroke you assume is there.
Example: Q. Three sparse options each miss one stroke of the part; one is complete.
Endpoint check finds the missing stroke in each wrong option.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Eliminate by the missing line
Count the part's line directions (horizontal, vertical, /, ). Any option missing one of these directions is out immediately.
Example: Q. The part has a horizontal, a vertical and a \ line. Option B has no \ line at all. Keep B?
No — reject it without tracing.
Where students lose marks
Choosing an option where the part fits only after rotation.
Stopping at the first partial match without checking every line.
Practice sets — 13 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 13 questions
Suggested time 11 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.