Mental Rotation
Neuro-SensomotoricSee a 3-D block figure, then pick the option that is the same object rotated — not a mirror image or a different shape. The classic Shepard–Metzler / Vandenberg–Kuse task.
Overview
Mental rotation is the ability to imagine how a rigid three-dimensional object would look when turned to a new orientation, and to decide whether two views show the same object or its mirror image. It is a core spatial-visualisation construct: classic studies (Shepard & Metzler, 1971) found that the time to judge two block figures rises linearly with the angle between them — people appear to rotate an internal model of the object to compare it. This test uses the group-test format of the Vandenberg–Kuse Mental Rotations Test: a criterion figure is shown with several alternatives, and you select the one that is the criterion rotated rather than a mirror-image or a different figure. The same 3-D block-figure rotation format is used in DLR spatial screening and in the WOMBAT figure-rotation subtest, so practising it builds the exact mental manipulation those pilot-selection batteries assess.
Assessments
Could show up in DLR and WOMBAT-CS-based selections.
Airline mappings are based on public information and may change.
Example: which one is a rotation?
The target figure is on the left. Exactly one option is the same solid object turned to a new orientation. The others are mirror images or different figures. Which option is the true rotation?
Game Phases
Configure
Choose a test length and a difficulty. Harder levels use larger figures and more mirror-image distractors.
Rotate
Study the target figure, then mentally turn each option to see which one is the same object in a new orientation.
Pick
Select the true rotation — click it or press 1–4. The next item appears instantly, so keep a steady pace.
Review
See your score, your score trend by difficulty, and an item-by-item review that flags which options were mirrors or different shapes.
More Practice
Spatial Orientation
11 exercisesSpatial Awareness
Visualise a 3D shape from a fixed viewpoint and pick the matching 2D view. Tests mental rotation and spatial perception under time pressure.
Spatial Orientation
Read your compass heading and a beacon's bearing, then judge where the beacon lies relative to your aircraft. Tests spatial orientation and sense of direction under time pressure.
Cube Folding
Mentally fold a flat net of six symboled faces into a cube, then pick which of four folded cubes it makes. Tests spatial visualisation and 2D-to-3D reasoning under time pressure.
Sense of Direction
One arrow shows your vehicle's new heading; you name the driving maneuver that got you there — straight, left, right or U-turn — on a circular four-wedge control. A practice version of scales nav, Aon's (cut-e's) Sense of Direction test: one minute, arrows chaining item to item, your heading held only in memory, plus a sudden-death Challenge mode.
ENAC Tetralogy of Angles
Read which way a small clock runs, then measure the turn from one line to another in that direction. In the ENAC EPL form you type 40 angles in four parts of 10: over a picture, between an arrow and a point, around a cross, and as an object to straighten. In the Air France Cadets form you get a figure and 8 clocks, each printing a value, and you tick every clock that matches the angle.
ENAC Point Tracking
Two figures side by side. The round one holds a few circles and four points lettered A to D. The square one is the same figure, turned in the plane and moved, with only one of the four points left and sometimes a circle or two added. You name the point that was kept. The exam format is 32 boards in 6:30 on one clock.
ENAC Objects Tracking
Two pictures, one above the other. In the lower one, an object is circled and five more carry the letters A to E. The upper one holds the same objects moved over together, among plenty of others. Tick the letters still at the same distance and direction from the circled object, and still exactly the same. The exam format is 30 boards in 12 minutes.
ENAC Patrons de Dés
A die with a letter or a rune on each face, two or three views of it, and its net laid flat with the cells numbered. Type under each symbol the number of the cell it goes in. The symbols are already turned the way they lie on the net, so the cell you pick decides how each one sits on the die. The exam format is two parts of 10 boards, 20:00 a part for Air France Cadets and 17:00 for the ENAC EPL.
ENAC 3 Dimension Rotations
A chair starts in a slanted position, then 4 turns follow, one at a time. Each turn is a ball with an arrow and an angle, always a multiple of 45°, and you only see the chair itself beside the first one. Then you picture the chair from a named side, say from the right or from above, and pick it out of 5 pictures. The exam format is 40 boards, 5 seconds a turn and 15 seconds to answer.
ENAC Cube Nets 2D/3D
Two nets of the same die side by side: the original, complete, and yours, unfolded from the die turned another way, with a few faces in place. Drag the other faces onto yours so that it folds back into the same die, and turn the letters the right way round. The exam format is 5 boards, 90 seconds each.
ENAC Viewpoint Finder
A photograph shows a few simple solids standing in the sand. Beside it, the same scene is drawn from directly above, with eight camera positions round it, and every camera looks at the centre. Click the position the photograph was taken from. The shadows, the left-to-right order of the objects, and the objects you can't see all tell you where you're standing. The exam format is 10 boards with 20 seconds each.