What does a child have to do to identify a visual odd one out in the 11+?

Select the figure that violates the shared visual rule. It is one of 22 named non-verbal reasoning skills in the 11+, in the pattern strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.

What is not part of identify a visual odd one out in the 11+?

The skill map draws the line here: One shared rule and one exception. A question past that line is testing a different named non-verbal reasoning skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.

Which other 11+ skills should we practise alongside identify a visual odd one out?

The pattern strand holds 5 skills that are placed together on the skill map, and the pages next to identify a visual odd one out are compare visual attributes, complete a visual matrix and complete a visual series. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.

How can my child practise identify a visual odd one out for free?

Use The Club, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to identify a visual odd one out, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Non-verbal Reasoning · Pattern

Identify a visual odd one out

Select the figure that violates the shared visual rule.

Watch the worked example

Spot the Rule Breaker

This video shows how to find the visual rule shared by a group of figures and choose the one that breaks it. Watch an 11+ non-verbal reasoning question solved step by step.

Open video page and transcript

Keep practising with Smart Cub Learning. Find topics to practise next

Quick quiz: Identify a visual odd one out

10 questions, with feedback after each one. No sign-up needed.

Read the questions in this quiz

Question 1
All of these figures but one are alike in a way. Which figure is the odd one out?
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Question 2
All of these figures but one are alike in a way. Which figure is the odd one out?
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Question 3
All of these figures but one are alike in a way. Which figure is the odd one out?
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Question 4
All of these figures but one are alike in a way. Which figure is the odd one out?
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Question 5
All of these figures but one are alike in a way. Which figure is the odd one out?
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Question 6
All of these figures but one are alike in a way. Which figure is the odd one out?
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Question 7
All of these figures but one are alike in a way. Which figure is the odd one out?
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Question 8
All of these figures but one are alike in a way. Which figure is the odd one out?
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Question 9
All of these figures but one are alike in a way. Which figure is the odd one out?
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Question 10
All of these figures but one are alike in a way. Which figure is the odd one out?
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Practise it now

Four of these belong to the same club. Drag them in - then put the odd one on the pedestal.

Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.

A worked example

One question of the kind this skill is tested with, worked all the way through: the reasoning, and what the wrong answers are there to catch.

Find the rule first, then the exception

Which one of these four figures breaks the rule that the other three follow?

Four figures, three of which follow one shared rule.

Option A, outline shapeA hexagon with five dots inside it
Option B, outline shapeA triangle with three dots inside it
Option C, outline shapeA square with four dots inside it
Option D, outline shapeA pentagon with five dots inside it

Answer: A hexagon with five dots inside it

How you get there

Look for what three of them share before you go hunting for what is wrong. The triangle has three sides and three dots. The square has four and four. The pentagon has five and five. So the shared rule is that the number of dots matches the number of sides. The hexagon has six sides but only five dots, so it is the one that breaks the rule.

Why the other answers tempt

Five dots look neatly balanced inside the hexagon, which makes that option feel regular at a glance. The test is not whether a figure looks tidy: count both the sides and the dots, then compare those two numbers.

If they are stuck, say this

Do not start by looking for the odd figure. Find a rule that three of them obey, then test the fourth against it. If your rule only covers two, it is the wrong rule.

Now do it live in The Club

Kitchen-table script for parents

Try this together

A friendly mini script for the breakfast table, school run or a quiet two minutes. Read it aloud as written, or make it your own.

Ready? Let's have a go at Identify a visual odd one out together. Take a look at the picture. Here is what matters: Four figures, three of which follow one shared rule. Each figure is a single closed shape with a number of dots inside it. Geometry figure: polygon. There are 4 pictured outline options. Here comes the question: Which one of these four figures breaks the rule that the other three follow? Before we race ahead, let us choose one good first step. Here is a helpful clue: Find a rule that three of them obey, then test the fourth against it. Nice work. Now let us follow the thinking: Look for what three of them share before you go hunting for what is wrong. So our answer is: A hexagon with five dots inside it. There is one sneaky trap to watch for: Five dots look neatly balanced inside the hexagon, which makes that option feel regular at a glance. Can you show me that first move again in your own words? Brilliant. No rush; we are practising a method you can reuse, not trying to win a speed contest.

What this exercise is doing

The Club

Four of these belong to the same club. Drag them in - then put the odd one on the pedestal.

In this puzzle, compare one feature at a time: shape, fill, number and angle. The five shapes are different. The striped cards do not share one number of shapes or one angle, so those features do not give four matching values. The fill does: four cards have stripes and one is solid. The solid card is the odd one out under this rule.

What to say if they get stuck

Drag a card into The Club. If it belongs, it slides into a seat all by itself.
One card keeps getting pushed back out. What do the four that fit have in common?
Forget the shapes and how many there are - look at what is INSIDE each shape.

Open The Club on its own page to share it

How identify a visual odd one out differs from the skills beside it

The same exercise practises one other skill, and telling them apart is often the difficulty rather than the exercise itself. On this page the skill is: select the figure that violates the shared visual rule, and it stops where one shared rule and one exception.

Compare visual attributes
Compare shape, position, angle, number, size, or shading across figures. One named or inferable attribute change.

Related non-verbal reasoning skills

Complete a visual matrixCombine row or column rules to select one missing figure.
Complete a visual seriesApply a repeated visual change to select the next figure.
Complete a visual analogyTransfer the visual relationship from one figure pair to complete a second pair.

All non-verbal reasoning 11+ skills

Questions parents ask about identify a visual odd one out

What this skill involves, common mistakes and ways to practise it at home.

: Select the figure that violates the shared visual rule. It is one of 22 named non-verbal reasoning skills in the 11+, in the pattern strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.
: Five dots look neatly balanced inside the hexagon, which makes that option feel regular at a glance. The test is not whether a figure looks tidy: count both the sides and the dots, then compare those two numbers. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.
: Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Do not start by looking for the odd figure. Find a rule that three of them obey, then test the fourth against it. If your rule only covers two, it is the wrong rule.
: The skill map draws the line here: One shared rule and one exception. A question past that line is testing a different named non-verbal reasoning skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.
: The pattern strand holds 5 skills that are placed together on the skill map, and the pages next to identify a visual odd one out are compare visual attributes, complete a visual matrix and complete a visual series. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.
: Use The Club, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to identify a visual odd one out, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Non-verbal reasoning is the paper families most often leave until last

A free diagnostic covers matrices, series, odd one out, rotation, reflection and the 3D questions, and shows where the time is worth spending.