Concept 3 of 5
Shape Analogy: Geometric Relationships
Today's big idea
Put the change from A to B into words, then repeat it on C.
Name the change from the first shape to the second, then make it happen again.
How it works
👀 What's going on?
Shape analogies swap the words for pictures. Something changes between the first two shapes, and your job is to make exactly that same change happen again.
💡 Here's the trick
Look at the pair above. A square becomes a cube, which is the same shape lifted from flat into solid. Do that to a triangle and you get a pyramid. Other changes turn up too: a shape to its number of sides, a rotation, or a mirror image.
🪄 How to do it
- 1.Compare A and B and put the change into words, as the picture above says 2D to 3D.
- 2.Check it is a change you could repeat on something else.
- 3.Apply that same change to C.
✍️ Try it
Triangle : 3 sides :: Hexagon : ? Then Square : Rectangle :: Rhombus : ? What changes in each one?
The first change is shape to side count, so a hexagon gives 6 sides. The second moves from a specific shape to the wider family it belongs to. So a rhombus gives parallelogram, in the way a square is also a rectangle.
⚠️ Watch out
You might be thinking every shape analogy turns 2D into 3D. That is only one of the changes used. Look for side counts, shape families and rotations as well, and name the change before you choose.
🌟 Why this matters
Recognising that two things change in the same way is how you spot a rule instead of memorising cases. It is the same move as noticing a pattern in a row of numbers.
Exam tip: Put the change into words first, because the options nearly always include a shape that fits a different change.
Watch me solve one
Quanta solves it
“Watch how I think through one of these — then you try.”
THE PROBLEM
“Circle : Sphere :: Square : ?”
- 1
Spot the rule
2D shape → its 3D version.
- 2
Apply
Square's 3D form = Cube.
- 3
Answer ✓
Cube
Now you try one — same steps, different story 👇
See it in action
⚡ Time to play!
A is to B as C is to ? — first name the link, then complete C.
SHAPE ANALOGY · ROUND 1 OF 3
Step 1 · Sphere __ Circle
Quick check
✅ VERIFICATION
Square pyramid : 5 faces :: Cuboid : ?
⚡ Finish the activity above first to answer.
Keep going!
Up next: Family & Blood Relations
UP = parent · sideways = brother/sister · DOWN = child.