The cadet college intelligence test: every question type, and how to practise it
Most candidates meet reasoning questions for the first time in the exam hall — which is exactly why the section exists. Here are the six question families, a worked example of each, and the 10-minutes-a-day method that builds real speed.
What is the intelligence section in the cadet college entry test?
It is a short, separately-timed section of verbal and non-verbal reasoning — series, analogies, odd-one-out, pattern matrices, coding and direction questions — included by several colleges (and as a distinct stage at PAF Sargodha) to measure aptitude rather than school knowledge. It rewards familiarity, not intelligence: the formats repeat, and a student who has seen each family a hundred times answers on sight.
The six question families — with worked examples
1. Series completion
2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
Differences are 4, 6, 8, 10 — increasing by 2 — so the next difference is 12, and the answer is 42. When numbers don't move by a constant step, check the differences first; when those also form a pattern, you've found the engine.
2. Analogies
Book is to Reading as Fork is to: (a) drawing (b) writing (c) eating (d) stirring
State the relationship in a sentence — 'a book is USED FOR reading' — then apply it verbatim: a fork is used for eating (c). The relationship sentence, not the objects, is what must match.
3. Odd one out
Rose, Jasmine, Mango, Tulip
Three are flowers, one is a tree that bears fruit — Mango. The trap is choosing by familiarity instead of by category: ask 'what are MOST of these?' and find the stranger.
4. Pattern matrices (non-verbal)
A 3×3 grid of shapes where each row adds one more side to the figure
Look across the row first (how does the shape change left to right?), then down the column. Non-verbal series usually change ONE property at a time — rotation, count, size, or shading — so name the changing property and predict the next cell.
5. Coding–decoding
If CAT is coded as DBU, how is DOG coded?
Each letter moved one step forward (C→D, A→B, T→U), so DOG becomes EPH. Write the alphabet with positions 1–26 once at the start of practice week; after twenty questions you stop needing it.
6. Direction sense
Ali walks 3 km north, turns right and walks 4 km. How far is he from the start?
Sketch it — north then right means east, and a 3–4 right-angle pair makes a 5 km straight line (3-4-5 triangle). A tiny rough diagram beats holding directions in your head, every single time.
How should you prepare for the intelligence section?
Ten minutes daily beats two hours on a weekend — pattern recognition is a compounding skill, built by volume and sleep, not by cramming. The method:
- 10 questions every day from day one of preparation — mixed families, not one family per day
- Name the family before answering— “this is a differences-series” — because recognition is the actual skill being built
- Never leave one blank in practice — struggle for the answer, then check; the struggle is where the learning happens
- Sketch every non-verbal and direction question — the pencil is faster than the memory, always
The site's practice drills include IQ/reasoning sets, and every wrong answer can become a flashcard so the pattern that fooled you once comes back until it can't. For where the intelligence section sits in the wider process, see the complete cadet college preparation guide.
Ten minutes a day, starting today — build the skill the schools never teach.
Practise reasoning questions