---
title: "CCAT Question Types Explained, With Examples"
url: https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-question-types
updated: 2026-10-13
description: "The CCAT tests verbal, math and logic, and spatial reasoning. See every question format, our 29 practice families, and four worked examples."
---

> Clever Cat Prep is an independent CCAT practice site. It is not affiliated with Criteria Corp or any employer.

CCAT question types

# CCAT question types, explained with examples

By [Avi Flombaum](https://avi.nyc) · Updated October 13, 2026

The CCAT has three kinds of questions: verbal, math and logic, and spatial reasoning. That is how Criteria describes it. Inside those three areas you will see about a dozen recognizable formats, from percent problems to number sequences to rotated shapes. Below is each one, how to recognize it in two seconds, and four worked examples.

## What does the CCAT test?

The Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT), the hiring test from Criteria Corp, has 50 questions and a 15-minute limit[C1]. Criteria says it measures three abilities: verbal ability, math and logic, and spatial reasoning. Employers get a sub-score for each one beside your overall score[C2]. (This is not the Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test that schools use for gifted programs.)

Here is what Criteria says each area covers, and the question formats that show up under it.

Criteria's three CCAT areas and the formats you'll see

| Area (Criteria's name) | What Criteria says it covers | Formats candidates see |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Verbal ability | A word's precise meaning, how words relate to each other, and how context changes word choice | Synonyms, antonyms, analogies, sentence completion, odd one out |
| Math and logic | Basic algebra, proportions and word problems, without a calculator | Arithmetic, percentages, ratios, word problems, number sequences, tables, logic statements, ordering |
| Spatial reasoning | Mentally rotating or flipping shapes, recognizing patterns, and spotting the item that doesn't belong | Rotations, mirror images, visual sequences, pattern matrices, odd one out |

The descriptions in the middle column paraphrase Criteria's candidate page[C1]. The right column is ours: the formats that fit each description, as we've built them for practice.

One thing the three-area split hides: Criteria puts logic inside math. A question like "Theo finished before Jules" has no numbers in it, but it lands in the math and logic sub-score. We practice logic as its own domain because it takes a different habit (draw the chain, check what the premises don't say) than arithmetic does.

## How many of each question type are on the CCAT?

Criteria doesn't publish a count per area or per type. It draws each test from a large item bank, and it says no two candidates get the exact same set of questions[C2]. So nobody outside Criteria can tell you "you'll get exactly six spatial questions." Anyone who does is guessing.

We had to pick a mix for our own simulator. This is it, and it is our choice, not Criteria's:

Clever Cat Prep full-test mix (our simulator, 50 questions)

| Domain | Questions |
| --- | --- |
| Math | 18 |
| Verbal | 16 |
| Spatial | 10 |
| Logic | 6 |

The practical point holds either way: math and verbal make up most of the test, and spatial is a meaningful slice. If you have three days, don't spend two of them on one type.

## Our 29 practice families

A **practice family** is our name for one repeatable question format with one solving method. "Percentages" is a family. "Mirror images" is a family. We split our bank of more than 4,000 practice questions into 29 of them, grouped in four domains: math, verbal, logic and spatial.

To be clear: these families are how Clever Cat Prep organizes practice. Criteria doesn't publish a list of question types, and our questions are our own, written to match the formats Criteria describes. The tables below link to pages with worked examples for each group.

## What math questions are on the CCAT?

Math is the biggest domain in our bank: 12 of the 29 practice families. None of it is advanced. Criteria says the math needs no calculator[C1], and the difficulty comes from the clock, not the concepts. At 50 questions in 15 minutes you have 18 seconds per question on average, so a percent problem you could solve in 40 seconds is still a problem.

Math practice families (Clever Cat Prep)

| Practice family | What you do | Examples |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mental arithmetic | Add, subtract, multiply and divide without a calculator, often with decimals. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-math-questions) |
| Percentages | Percent of a number, discounts, increases, and percent change. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-math-questions) |
| Ratios & proportions | Split a total in a ratio, scale a recipe, or find a missing term. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-math-questions) |
| Averages | Find a mean, or the missing value that produces a given mean. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-math-questions) |
| Speed & unit rates | Distance, speed and time, and price or output per unit. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-word-problems) |
| Work rates | Two people or machines working together, or one finishing a job. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-word-problems) |
| Algebra & word equations | Turn a short story (ages, totals, consecutive numbers) into one equation. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-word-problems) |
| Number sequences | Find the rule in a row of numbers and give the next one. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-number-series-questions) |
| Interleaved sequences | Two sequences woven together, alternating positions. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-number-series-questions) |
| Fractions | Compare, add or take a fraction of an amount. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-math-questions) |
| Probability & counting | Chance of drawing a color, or how many ways to arrange or choose. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-math-questions) |
| Tables & charts | Read a table or bar chart, then compute a total, gap or change. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-math-questions) |

Two groups need a different approach. [Number sequences](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-number-series-questions) are pattern problems, closer to logic than arithmetic: you're looking for a rule, not computing. [Word problems](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-word-problems) (rates, work, algebra) reward translation: the faster you turn the sentence into one equation, the faster you're done.

Question 1 Percentages Medium

A jacket costs $510. Its price is reduced by 25%. What is the new price?

- A. 459
- B. 306
- C. 637.5
- D. 127.5
- E. 382.5

**Show the answer and the fast route**

**Answer: E, 382.5**

The discount is 25% of 510, or 127.5. The new price is 510 − 127.5 = 382.5.

The fast route

Find 10% or 1% first. For an original amount, divide by the remaining fraction.

**How to spot it fast.** A price and a percent off means you want what's *left*, not the discount. Take 75% directly (three quarters of 510), and you skip the subtraction step that traps people into picking 127.5.

## What verbal questions are on the CCAT?

Verbal questions test vocabulary and how words relate, not reading long passages. Criteria's description is "precise meaning," how words relate, and how context affects word choice[C1]. Most verbal questions are fast if you know the word and slow if you don't, so the strategy is simple: answer instantly or guess and move on.

Verbal practice families (Clever Cat Prep)

| Practice family | What you do | Examples |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Synonyms | Pick the word closest in meaning. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-verbal-questions) |
| Antonyms | Pick the word most nearly opposite. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-verbal-questions) |
| Word analogies | A is to B as C is to what? Match the relationship. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-verbal-questions) |
| Sentence completion | Choose the word that fits the blank and the sentence's logic. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-verbal-questions) |
| Verbal odd one out | Four words share a category; find the one that doesn't. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-verbal-questions) |
| Word relationships | Name how two words relate: part and whole, cause, degree. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-verbal-questions) |
| Exact matching | Compare pairs of names, codes or addresses character by character. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-verbal-questions) |

**Exact matching** is the odd one here. It is a detail check: you compare pairs of names or codes and count the ones that match exactly. It needs no vocabulary, only careful eyes, and it is easy to rush. See worked examples on our [CCAT verbal questions](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-verbal-questions) page.

Question 2 Word analogies Medium

SCALPEL is to SURGEON as CHISEL is to…

- A. writer
- B. mason’s wall
- C. canvas
- D. sculptor
- E. painter

**Show the answer and the fast route**

**Answer: D, sculptor**

A characteristic tool is paired with its user.

The fast route

Say the relationship as a short sentence; preserve its direction.

**How to spot it fast.** The words "is to ... as" mean analogy. Say the first pair as a sentence ("a surgeon uses a scalpel"), then test each option in the same sentence. Only one fits with the direction kept.

## What logic questions are on the CCAT?

Logic questions give you a few statements and ask what follows. Criteria counts them in the math and logic sub-score. We split them out because they need a different habit: read exactly what's stated, and don't fill in what isn't.

Logic practice families (Clever Cat Prep)

| Practice family | What you do | Examples |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Deductive statements | Given premises, is a conclusion true, false or uncertain? | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-syllogisms) |
| Ordering & ranking | Place people or items in order from a list of clues. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-logic-questions) |
| If-then reasoning | Conditional statements about named people: true, false or uncertain. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-syllogisms) |
| Letter sequences | Find the rule in a row of letters, usually by alphabet position. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-logic-questions) |
| Overlapping groups | Two or three overlapping sets: who is in both, either or neither. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-logic-questions) |

The true, false or uncertain questions catch people who answer from common sense instead of the premises. "Uncertain" is often right, and it feels like a cop-out. Our [CCAT syllogisms](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-syllogisms) page covers the patterns, and [CCAT logic questions](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-logic-questions) covers ordering, letter sequences and overlapping groups.

Question 3 Ordering & ranking Medium

Five runners finished with no ties. Eli finished before Rina. Lena finished before Omar. Omar finished before Mira. Rina finished before Lena. Who finished last?

- A. Lena
- B. Omar
- C. Mira
- D. Rina
- E. Eli

**Show the answer and the fast route**

**Answer: C, Mira**

The order from first to last is Eli → Rina → Lena → Omar → Mira. Mira finished last.

The fast route

Build a short chain. For rank from both ends, add the ranks and subtract one.

**How to spot it fast.** Names plus "before" means ordering. Don't hold it in your head: write the letters in a line as you read (E R L O M). With four clues and five people, the chain is usually complete, and the answer is one end of it.

## What spatial reasoning questions are on the CCAT?

Spatial questions are the ones people don't expect. They're pictures: shapes turned, flipped, or changing step by step. Criteria describes rotating or flipping shapes, recognizing patterns, and identifying the item that doesn't belong[C1]. If you have never done these before, the first few cost you a lot of time, which is the best argument for practicing them.

Spatial practice families (Clever Cat Prep)

| Practice family | What you do | Examples |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mental rotation | Which option is the original shape turned, not flipped? | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-spatial-reasoning-questions) |
| Mirror images | Which option is the shape flipped across a given line? | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-spatial-reasoning-questions) |
| Visual sequences | What tile comes next as a pattern turns, moves or inverts? | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-spatial-reasoning-questions) |
| Pattern matrices | Which tile completes a grid built by a row or column rule? | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-spatial-reasoning-questions) |
| Spatial odd one out | Four shapes share a property; find the one that doesn't. | [See examples](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-spatial-reasoning-questions) |

The fastest single skill here is telling a rotation from a reflection. A shape with no mirror symmetry and its mirror image can never be rotated into each other, so one check rules out half the options. Our [CCAT spatial reasoning questions](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-spatial-reasoning-questions) page has six worked examples.

Question 4 Pattern matrices Medium

Which tile completes the matrix? Use the same left-to-right combination rule in every row.

[image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,3; 2,2; 2,3; 3,2; 3,3] [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,1; 1,2; 1,3; 2,3] [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,1; 1,2; 2,2; 3,2; 3,3] [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,3; 2,2; 2,3; 3,1] [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,2; 1,3; 2,2; 2,3; 3,1; 3,2] [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,2; 3,2] [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,2; 1,3; 2,1; 2,2; 2,3; 3,2; 3,3] [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,3; 3,1; 3,3]?

- A. [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,1; 1,2; 2,1; 2,2; 2,3; 3,1; 3,2]
- B. [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,3; 3,3]
- C. [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,2; 1,3; 2,1; 2,2; 2,3; 3,1; 3,2; 3,3]
- D. [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 2,1; 2,2; 2,3; 3,1; 3,2]
- E. [image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,2; 2,1; 2,2; 2,3; 3,1; 3,2]

**Show the answer and the fast route**

**Answer: E**

[image: 3 by 3 tile. Filled row,column positions: 1,2; 2,1; 2,2; 2,3; 3,1; 3,2]

In each row, the third tile keeps cells filled in exactly one of the first two tiles. Cells filled in both disappear.

The fast route

Compare occupied cells in a completed row, then verify the rule in another row.

**How to spot it fast.** A grid with one blank tile and the words "combination rule" means the third tile is built from the first two. Solve one complete row (overlay, keep the differences, or keep the overlap), then confirm it on a second row before you look at the options.

## How do you recognize a CCAT question type in two seconds?

On a 15-minute test, the first seconds of each question matter most. If you know the type the moment you see it, you also know your first move, and you know whether this is a question to answer now or guess on. These are the cues we teach:

Cue, type and first move

| If you see | It's probably | First move |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A dollar amount and a percent | Percentages | Find 10% first, then scale |
| "is to ... as ... is to" | Word analogies | Say the relationship as a sentence |
| A row of numbers ending in ? | Number sequences | Write the differences |
| Names plus "before" or "taller than" | Ordering & ranking | Draw a one-line chain |
| "All", "some", "if", then True / False / Uncertain | Deduction or if-then | Look for what the premises do not say |
| Two columns of codes or addresses | Exact matching | Scan the ends first, then the middle |
| A grid with one blank tile | Pattern matrices | Solve one full row, test it on another |
| One shape and five turned versions | Mental rotation | Track one corner |
| A table or bar chart | Tables & charts | Read the question before the data |

Criteria's own advice is to make an educated guess and move on if a question takes more than a minute[C1]. We'd set the limit lower. Fewer than 1% of candidates answer all 50[C1], and Criteria's help docs say the time pressure is by design[C3]. A minute on one question is the cost of about three others. There's no penalty for a wrong answer, so a guess is always better than a blank.

## How should you practice by question type?

Knowing the types is step one. Here is the order we'd work in if your test is days away:

1. **Take one full timed test first.** Our [free CCAT practice test](https://clevercatprep.com/free-ccat-practice-test) is 50 questions in 15 minutes, mixed like the real thing. It shows which types cost you time, not just which ones you miss.
2. **Put your score in context.** The [CCAT score calculator](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-score-calculator) estimates where a raw score sits against Criteria's published norms, and what a target score means for you.
3. **Drill the two or three slowest types,** not all 29. One family at a time until the first move is automatic, then mixed sets so the switching is automatic too.
4. **Plan your pace.** The [CCAT pacing calculator](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-pacing-calculator) turns a target score into seconds per question and a checkpoint for each minute.
5. **Check what your employer expects.** Some employers publish more than others. Our list of [companies that use the CCAT](https://clevercatprep.com/companies-that-use-the-ccat) collects what's public, with sources.

Every type page links to worked questions. If you want the whole picture of the test first, read [what the CCAT is](https://clevercatprep.com/criteria-cognitive-aptitude-test) and [the CCAT rules](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-rules), then come back here. And if you're stuck on a format on this page, ask Clever below: it can walk you through any of the examples.

## Questions, answered

**What types of questions are on the CCAT?**

Criteria says the CCAT covers three areas: verbal ability, math and logic, and spatial reasoning. In practice that means word meanings and analogies, arithmetic and word problems, number and letter sequences, logic statements, and shape questions such as rotations, mirror images and pattern matrices.

**How many question types are on the CCAT?**

Criteria does not publish a count of question types. It names three areas. Clever Cat Prep splits its practice bank into 29 families across math, verbal, logic and spatial. That is our own grouping for practice, not an official Criteria list.

**How many math questions are on the CCAT?**

Criteria does not publish a count per area. Our full-length simulator uses 18 math, 16 verbal, 10 spatial and 6 logic questions, which is our own mix.

**Are the CCAT questions in a fixed order by type?**

Criteria does not publish the order. Expect the areas to be mixed, so you switch from a word question to a percent to a shape. Practice with mixed sets so the switch costs you nothing.

**Which CCAT question type is the hardest?**

It depends on you. Many people find spatial pattern matrices and multi-step word problems the slowest. The useful question is which types cost you the most time per point, which a timed practice test shows.

**Does the CCAT have abstract reasoning questions?**

Yes, under the name spatial reasoning. Criteria describes it as rotating or flipping shapes, recognizing patterns, and finding the item that does not belong.

**Do I need algebra for the CCAT?**

Only a little. Criteria mentions basic algebra, proportions and word problems, all without a calculator. Most questions need one short equation or a ratio, not formal algebra.

## Sources

1. [C1] [Criteria Corp, "What to Expect on the CCAT" (candidate prep page)](https://www.criteriacorp.com/candidates/ccat-prep). Read October 13, 2026.
2. [C2] [Criteria Corp, CCAT Information Brief (PDF)](https://www.criteriacorp.com/files/Criteria-InfoBrief-CCAT.pdf). Read October 6, 2026.
3. [C3] [Criteria Help Docs, "Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT)"](https://criteria.helpdocs.io/article/6oop1glecf-criteria-cognitive-aptitude-test-ccat). Read October 6, 2026.

## Keep going

- [Guides: CCAT vs PI](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-vs-pi-cognitive-assessment)
- [Guides: Test day](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-test-day)
- [Guides: Companies that use the CCAT](https://clevercatprep.com/companies-that-use-the-ccat)
- [Guides: Prep options compared](https://clevercatprep.com/ccat-prep-compared)