UCAT Logic Puzzles: how to solve them
Logic puzzles are scenarios that involve organizing a group of people or things into a specific sequence based on a set of conditions. The core Decision Making skill tested here is the process of elimination - honing this should allow you to answer any question.
What is a logic puzzle question?
Each logic puzzle question starts with a short scenario (e.g. "five pharmacy staff in five positions") followed by a list of rules (e.g. "Kai stands immediately before Lila"). By applying the rules against the scenario, you should be able to determine the sequencing of people or things within the given group.
Logic puzzles are not fully solvable from a single read-through of the rules. While certain clues do allow you to make confirmed statements (i.e. anchors), the majority are dependent on anchors or in the context of other clues.
The cleanest approach to logic puzzles is drawing a grid - complete the example question below and we'll show you how to construct, test, and answer questions using this method.
Organizing Project Updates
Four colleagues (Nadia, Omar, Priya and Reza) each give a project update on a different day, Monday to Thursday, with one update per day.
- 1Nadia’s update is earlier in the week than Priya’s.
- 2Omar does not present on Monday or Thursday.
- 3Reza presents on the day immediately after Priya.
Who presents on Thursday?
The Grid Method
Classic Logic Puzzle Traps
Trap guides are being published. Links open as each goes live.
Learning Grid-Building through Volume
While tedious at first, the grid method is the quickest and most reliable approach to logic puzzles for those that know how to do it. The best way to train for these isn't just understanding the basics of grid-building, but practicing it enough so that it becomes instinctual.
MedPath drills logic puzzles trap by trap - with a worked interactive grid for each - and steers your practice toward the traps you keep falling for.
Practise logic puzzles adaptively.
MedPath drills logic puzzles trap by trap - with a worked interactive grid for each - and steers practice toward the traps you keep falling for.
Logic puzzles, in short
Do I need outside knowledge or a calculator for logic puzzles?+
No. Everything you need is in the clues, and you solve by elimination rather than arithmetic. Decision Making does give you a simple on-screen calculator, but logic puzzles rarely call for it.
How are logic puzzles scored?+
As part of Decision Making, they count towards its 300–900 scaled score. Most logic puzzles are single-best-answer, so unlike the multi-statement Decision Making types, there’s usually no partial credit; you need the right arrangement to earn the mark.
What’s the most common mistake?+
Settling on the first arrangement that seems to work without checking it against every clue, or assuming the whole grid is fixed when only the entity the question asks about is actually pinned.