Navodaya Class 6 Mental Ability Questions: 5 Worked Figure Types

The NVS prospectus says MAT is a non-verbal test based on figures and diagrams. It names five parts: pattern completion (including alphabetical and number patterns), figure series completion, geometrical figure completion, mirror and water imaging, and embedded figures. Its printed example number ranges do not perfectly match the sentence “five parts having 4 questions each”: Part III says questions 09–11, while Part IV says 12–16. Treat the five families as the syllabus; do not make a 2027 per-family score forecast from those inconsistent ranges.

These drawings are deliberately simpler than a full exam question. They teach the operation first: compare rows and columns, test a repeated change, close an outside boundary, reflect at the line, or trace an embedded shape. After a child can explain the operation, use a fresh NVS sample or a correctly labelled 2027 practice paper. Do not present these examples as past-year questions or as a prediction of what NVS will print.

A missing tile must keep the same row and column rule. First compare left to right, then top to bottom.

Test one change at a time: direction, number, shading or position. Keep the rule that works through all three given figures.

Picture the whole shape before you compare pieces. Trace the outside boundary and notice any interior line that must continue.

A vertical mirror swaps left and right. A horizontal water line swaps top and bottom. Marks nearest the reflection line stay nearest it.

Look for the target edges inside a busy figure. The target may have extra lines crossing it; preserve its exact shape and orientation.

For a child, a five-word explanation is often a stronger sign of learning than a fast lucky choice. Ask “what moved?” and “how do you know?” before showing the options again. For mirror questions, put a finger on the mirror line and match features by distance from that line. For embedded figures, trace each target edge with a pencil in the air. If the child cannot find one edge, the apparent match is probably a near-miss. This process needs no advanced vocabulary.

NVS says EVS contains 15 MCQs plus one passage with five questions. Its areas are the natural world, the human body, science in daily life, and social surroundings. A child might get a figure rule wrong because of orientation, but an EVS answer wrong because of a misunderstood water-cycle word or a passage detail. Put these in separate logs even though NVS gives one combined Section 1 qualifying floor. This avoids a common mistake: treating the old 40-question MAT paper as if nothing changed except the date.

Each correct answer earns 1.25 marks, and the prospectus says there is no negative marking. Eleven correct across MAT and EVS give 13.75 marks, just below the 14-mark Section 1 floor; twelve give 15 marks. In Arithmetic or Language, five correct give 6.25, below 7; six correct give 7.5. These are arithmetic thresholds for a practice paper under the published marking rule, not admission cutoffs. Selection also depends on district seats, category rules, other candidates, and NVS verification. The 14-mark requirement applies to MAT and EVS together in the current prospectus, not to MAT alone.

These are examples of small sessions, not a timetable imposed by NVS. A child who needs more rest can spread the loop across two weeks. Avoid solving the same sheet repeatedly and counting memorised answers as progress. Switch shape, colour, position or reflection line for a fresh test. Stop a session when fatigue makes the child rush; a clear explanation on three unseen questions is better evidence than a long pile of guessed bubbles.

The JNVST 2027 prospectus schedules one sitting for summer- and winter-bound JNVs on Saturday 28 November 2026, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It tells candidates to be seated by 11:00 a.m. The booklet language is the one chosen in the application and cannot be changed later. The test uses a separate OMR answer sheet, blue or black ball-point pen, one correct option among four, no pencil and no correction fluid. Practice filling the circle for the correct question number, not only solving the drawing. The instructions advise suggested times, but candidates may adjust the two-hour total. The current admit card and NVS notice control final logistics.

Older books can still supply visual exercises if their answer keys are good, but label them “extra practice” and do not let them redefine the 2027 section sizes. The official 2027 prospectus has sample figures for each part. This page’s five diagrams are independent examples designed to teach the rule; they do not duplicate those official figures. For the full current syllabus, including EVS, Arithmetic and Language, use our existing syllabus hub in the series below.