Chapter 12
Assembling Objects
IN THIS CHAPTER
Checking out the newest ASVAB subtest
Connecting the dots and putting the pieces together
Getting your test score into shape
Although much of the ASVAB measures academic knowledge at the high school level, Assembling Objects is a subtest that probably doesn’t resemble any of your high school classes (unless your high school offered a course in Jigsaw Puzzles 101).
The Assembling Objects subtest is designed to measure your ability to look at pieces of an object and determine how those pieces should fit together (technically called visualizing spatial relationships). Spatial skills, which help people figure out maps and interpret technical drawings, are important to everyday living as well as for performing well in school and on the job. Society today places greater demands on spatial skills, such as interpretation of graphs, maps, architectural drawings, and X-rays.
The Assembling Objects subtest of the CAT-ASVAB consists of 16 graphical problems that must be solved in 15 minutes; the paper version of the ASVAB has 25 questions to be solved in 15 minutes. That gives you a little less than a minute for each question (not counting any time you take to scratch your head). That’s plenty of time to finish if you’re good at jigsaw puzzles.
Getting the Picture about Assembling Objects
The Assembling Objects subtest is relatively new to the ASVAB. It was added when the ASVAB was revised in 2005, when the Numerical Operations and Coding Speed subtests were deleted. First it was added only to the computerized version of the ASVAB, and then it was added to the paper enlistment version about a year later. If you’re taking the high school version of the ASVAB or the in-service version (Armed Forces Classification Test), you won’t see this subtest.
At the time of this writing, only the Navy uses the score from the Assembling Objects subtest for job qualification purposes. Additionally, only a few ratings (what the Navy calls jobs) require a score in this area. The other branches don’t use the results of this subtest at all, but they may in the future. For details about which Navy enlisted jobs require a score in this area, see Appendix A.
The upshot is that unless you’re planning to join the Navy, in one of only a handful of Navy enlisted jobs, you can safely ignore this entire chapter. Don’t say I never gave you a gift.
Two Types of Questions for the Price of One
The Assembling Objects subtest has two types of questions, both of which consist of five separate drawings. In the first drawing, you see a picture with various disassembled parts, followed by four drawings that show the parts assembled or connected. Your task is to choose the drawing that shows what the parts may actually look like after they’re assembled or connected properly.
Both types of Assembling Objects problems require you to perform mental rotation — a process through which you predict what an array of objects would look like if they were rotated or turned by some number of degrees.
Putting tab A into slot B: Connectors
The first type of problem presents you with simple geometric figures such as stars, cloud shapes, letter shapes, circles, and triangles. In the first drawing, you can see shapes and lines labeled with dots and the letters A and B. These letters and dots indicate points of attachment.
The next four drawings show possible solutions of what the shapes would look like if connected at designated points by the line. The shapes may be reoriented or rotated from what you observe in the first drawing. The correct solution shows the line connected correctly to reflect the points shown in the first drawing.
Look at Figure 12-1 and see whether you can solve it. In the first drawing, you see a star and a sort of lopsided T. There’s a small dot on the short appendage of the T, labeled A, and a dot on one of the points of the star, labeled B.
FIGURE 12-1: Identifying points and shapes.
In Figure 12-1, Choice (A) is the correct solution. Choices (B) and (C) include shapes that aren’t included in the first drawing, so they’re obviously incorrect. Although Choice (D) has the correct shapes, they aren’t connected at the same points depicted in the first drawing.
Okay, that sounds simple, doesn’t it? Don’t worry; it gets more complicated (sorry to burst your bubble). Figure 12-2 shows the same problem but with a different twist.
FIGURE 12-2: Rotated shapes make the problem harder.
Choice (A) is the correct solution for the problem in Figure 12-2. In this case, the two shapes have been repositioned and rotated.
On the flip side: Avoiding mirrors
Mirroring (or flipping or reflecting) isn’t the same as rotation, as Figure 12-3 illustrates. The shape in Box B isn’t the same as the shape in Box A. It’s a mirror image. No matter how you rotate the shape in Box A, it will never look like the shape in Box B. Think of it this way: You can turn a jigsaw puzzle piece upside down (so the picture side is facing the table), and it may fit, but that’s not the proper method of putting the puzzle together. (It wouldn’t look very pretty, either.) The Assembling Objects subtest is the same way. The possible solutions may include shapes that are reflections of a shape shown in the first drawing, but they’ll never be the correct solution.
FIGURE 12-3: Figuring out mirrored shapes (A and B) and rotated shapes.
Crossing over the right places
If a shape in the first drawing shows a line that goes through any part of the shape, the correct solution must also reflect the same line-shape relationship. Check out Figure 12-4. In the first drawing, Point B is in the center of the star. But note the line intersects the star at one of its indentations and not one of its points. That means the correct solution must show the same intersection.
FIGURE 12-4: Line-shape relationships.
In this example, Choice (B) is the correct solution. At first glance, Choice (C) looks like it could be correct. Can you spot the reason it’s not the correct solution? Right! The lopsided T shape in the image is a reflection of the shape shown in the first drawing.
Putting it all together
You’re starting to see the shape of things! (I’m sorry, but these little zingers just keep popping out.) Try a couple more, just to get into shape. Look at Figure 12-5.
FIGURE 12-5: Another example of spatial relationships.
In Figure 12-5, did you select Choice (C) as the correct answer? If so, good job! Choice (A) is incorrect because the line intersects the triangle at the wrong point and the connection point A is misplaced. Choice (B) is incorrect because the weird shape is actually a mirror image of the shape shown in the first drawing. Choice (D) is incorrect because the points don’t correlate to the points depicted in the first drawing.
Now try Figure 12-6. The first drawing includes a shape that kind of looks like a Y and a shape that looks like the letter C.
FIGURE 12-6: More shapes to test your spatial skills.
The correct answer for the problem shown in Figure 12-6 is Choice (B). Choice (A) is incorrect because the Y shape is a mirror image of the shape shown in the first drawing, and the connection points don’t correspond to the first drawing’s points. Choice (C) is incorrect because the Y shape is a mirror image of the shape shown in the first drawing. Choice (D) is incorrect because the Y shape is a different shape (the stem is much shorter) than the shape shown in the first drawing and because the connection dot on the C shape is in the wrong location.
Solving the jigsaw puzzle: Shapes
Many people may find the second type of Assembling Objects problem easier than the connection problems. This type of problem is very much like a jigsaw puzzle, except it doesn’t result in a picture of the Statue of Liberty or a map of the United States. Also, there’s a heck of a lot fewer pieces than that 1,000-piece puzzle your grandma kept wanting you to help her with. The difficulty lies in the fact that you can’t use your hands to twist the pieces around on the table in order to see how they fit. You have to rotate and move the pieces mentally.
In Figure 12-7, the solution is pretty straightforward.
FIGURE 12-7: A simple jigsaw example.
By mentally sliding the shapes in the first drawing together, it’s easy to see that they fit together to form the picture shown in Choice (A). Now look at Figure 12-8.
FIGURE 12-8: Putting pieces together with rotation.
Choice (A) is the correct answer. The figure shown in Choice (A) is the same as the figure depicted in Choice (A) of Figure 12-7, except it’s been rotated.
The previous two figures were warm-up exercises — the questions on the ASVAB are harder. Check out Figure 12-9 for a better representation of the types of questions on the ASVAB.
FIGURE 12-9: A harder example of spatial rotation.
Pay attention to the curve of the leaf shape inside the square. It’s not bowed out as in Choice (B) — the edges have more of a wave shape. Choice (C) has that shape but too thin. If you selected Choice (D) as the correct solution, give yourself a pat on the back. Examining spatial relationships can help locate the correct answer with ease. Try a couple more examples to see if you’ve gotten the hang of it. Check out Figure 12-10.
FIGURE 12-10: Practice mentally rotating and relocating pieces of puzzles.
In Figure 12-10, Choice (B) is the correct answer. Mentally rotate and relocate the pieces in the first picture until you can see how they fit together to form the shape in Choice (B). In the puzzle, three pieces have both a curved edge and a single straight edge. Practice eliminating choices that lack these characteristics. Choice (A) lacks these shapes, so you can discount it right away. Notice the curved pieces are all different sizes. Visualize fitting these pieces of the puzzle in your mind and compare the sizes and differences. Now try Figure 12-11.
FIGURE 12-11: Putting the pieces of the puzzle together with your mental spatial skills.
In Figure 12-11, Choice (A) is the correct answer. If you didn’t get this one quite right, don’t worry. You can hone your skills with the practice questions at the end of this chapter.
Tips for the Assembling Objects Subtest
In the following sections, I offer some tips for improving your score on the Assembling Objects subtest. I offer strategies for eliminating wrong answers during the test, and I name some ways you can improve your spatial skills in general (which may come in handy the next time you have to read a map, too).
Comparing one piece or point at a time
On the Assembling Objects subtest, you can sometimes improve your odds of getting the answer right if you select just one shape from the first drawing and then quickly look at each of the choices to see whether that shape is represented there but in a different orientation. This process can help you quickly eliminate answer choices that are obviously wrong.
On connection-type problems, note the position of the dot on one of the shapes in the first drawing and then quickly scan the possible answers, eliminating any choice that depicts the dot in a different location or that shows the line passing through the shape at a different point than that shown in the first drawing.
Remember to be aware of mirror images — shapes that are reflected (instead of rotated) from the image shown in the first drawing. The sneaky test-makers often make use of such mirror representations to see whether they can trick your eyes.
Visualizing success: Practicing spatial skills ahead of time
Researchers at the University of Chicago have determined that your basic foundation for spatial skills is established at a very early age, perhaps as young as age 4 or 5. But don’t worry. That doesn’t mean all is lost if your parents never got you that model rocket kit you wanted. The same research has concluded that you can still improve spatial skills by engaging in activities that are spatially oriented. Some of those activities include the following:
- Practicing reading maps: Map reading can help you develop the ability to gauge scales of size and direction between related objects (roads, rivers, towns, cities, and so on).
- Putting together jigsaw puzzles: This way is an obvious form of practice for improving your spatial perceptions.
- Playing puzzle games online: Many online puzzle games exercise the skill of identifying spatial relationships and visual similarities.
- Playing graphical computer games: Computer games may help you to improve your spatial skills. A study conducted in the United Kingdom showed that children who played computer games consistently scored higher on spatial aptitude tests than children who didn’t play the games.
- Sketching: Look at an object or a picture and attempt to sketch it as viewed from a different view. This exercise can help you to improve your ability to mentally visualize angles.
Assembling Objects Practice Questions
Assembling Objects questions measure your spatial skills. There are two types of questions: connecting questions and putting-pieces-together questions. In connection questions, your task is to choose the answer that shows the shapes properly connected together at the designated points. In the jigsaw puzzle–type questions, you must choose the answer that best shows what the shapes in the first drawing would look like if assembled together.
Answers and Explanations
Use this answer key to score the Assembling Objects practice questions.
- B. Note that the bottom figure in the first drawing has a line that intersects the short side of the trapezoid shape, so Choices (C) and (D) are wrong. Connection point A is at the tip of the mitten shape, so Choice (A) is wrong as well. The correct answer is Choice (B).
- C. Mentally rotate and reposition the shapes in the first drawing until you can see how they fit together to form the shape shown in Choice (C) — the correct answer. In the first drawing, notice that the shape at the upper right resembles a shark fin — it has two sharp points, and the third point is curved. Choice (C) is the only image that contains this shape (it’s at the bottom).
- D. If you selected Choice (A), you were fooled. The arrow shape shown in Choice (A) is a mirror of the shape depicted in the first drawing. The correct answer is Choice (D).
- A. Mentally rotate and reposition the shapes in the first drawing until you can see how they fit together to form the shape shown in Choice (A) — the correct answer. If you had trouble with this one, notice that the piece in the center of the upside-down heart should have a corner that dips a bit on the left. Choice (C) has the dip in the center, and Choice (D) has it on the right, so these answers are wrong. Choice (B) has only three pieces.
- D. Note that both shapes in the first drawing have lines that intersect the shapes at designated points. If you selected Choice (B), your eyes were fooled by mirror images. The correct answer is Choice (D).
- B. Mentally rotate and reposition the shapes in the first drawing until you can see how they fit together to form the shape shown in Choice (B) — the correct answer. Here, you can take a mental snapshot of the largest shape and look for it in the answers — Choice (B) is the only choice that has it. Verify that this is the right answer by recognizing that Choice (B) is also the only answer that contains a segment of a circle, at the top.
- A. Don’t be fooled by the mirror shape in Choice (B), because the correct answer is Choice (A).
- C. Mentally rotate and reposition the shapes in the first drawing until you can see how they fit together to form the shape shown in Choice (C), which is the correct answer. Here, you may note that the first drawing contains two shapes that resemble triangles with one side curved inward. Choice (C) is the only image that contains those shapes.
- B. Take note of the point of intersection in the heart in the question; then match it up with the correct answer, Choice (B).
- A. Awkward shapes plus mirrored images make this one a little tricky, but when you look at the points and the positions of the images, you can see that Choice (A) is right.
- D. Choice (D) is the only answer that shows the right intersection between the circle and L-shaped object.
- A. Keeping your eye on the points of assembly and staying clear of any mirrored images, you can see that Choice (A) is connected appropriately.
- D. The rectangle in the middle of Choices (C) and (D) is a negative space. You can tell Choice (D) is correct by sizing up the proportions of the three curvy shapes and the triangle.
- B. Counting out the shapes and identifying the right proportions help you see Choice (B) as your shining star.
- A. Awkward shapes can make it difficult to mentally piece together multiple objects with the correct proportions. Don’t be distracted by the shapes. Notice the proportions and lines in relation to one another. Make sure each element in the question appears in your answer.
- B. Unusual shapes can be awkward to dissect, but Choice (B) reflects the correct assembly. It has the right number of shapes in the right proportions.