Quarter-Turns: Constant Rotation

In these sequences, a symbol such as an arrow or a flag turns a little in each panel. The amount it turns is always 90 degrees, which is also called a quarter-turn. A quarter-turn moves a symbol from pointing up to pointing right, or from pointing right to pointing down. Think of the hands of a clock moving from 12 to 3. Four quarter-turns add up to 360 degrees, which is a full turn. After a full turn the symbol points in exactly the same direction as when it started. In these puzzles the symbol does not change size or move around the panel. Only the direction it points in changes, so keep your eyes on the tip of the symbol and ask which way it is facing.

Symbols can turn two ways. Clockwise means turning the same way as the hands of a clock: up, right, down, left. Anticlockwise means turning the opposite way: up, left, down, right. To find the direction, compare panel 1 with panel 2. Where was the tip pointing, and where does it point now? If it moved the way a clock hand moves, the turn is clockwise. Then check panel 2 against panel 3. The turn must be the same every time, so if the first step was clockwise, every step will be clockwise. Because four quarter-turns make a full turn, the fifth symbol returns to the first direction. When four panels are shown, the missing fifth panel points the same way as panel 1.

Once you have chosen an option, turn it in your head one more quarter-turn backwards. It should land on the direction of the last panel you were given. A quick shortcut for these puzzles is to compare your answer with panel 1. After four quarter-turns, they should point the same way. Watch out for the most common mistake: a reflection is not a rotation. A reflected symbol is flipped over like a mirror image. Some options may point in the right direction but be flipped, so a flag might fly from the wrong side of its pole. You can turn a symbol round without lifting it, but you cannot turn it into its mirror image. Check that the symbol has been turned, not flipped.