OC Thinking Skills Practice Test 15 — 2027 NSW Opportunity Class Exam

Step 1: Understand the side view.

The side view shows a stepped structure when viewed from the side:

• A wide base spanning the full width
• On the left side, two extra cubes are stacked upward, making the left taller than the right

This tells us the solid is like a triangular prism (with an inverted triangular base) that has a rectangular block sitting on one end of it.

Step 2: Picture what the top view would look like.

When you look straight down from above, you would see:

• The outline of the triangular base — because the prism has an inverted triangle as its base, you see a large inverted triangle shape.
• Inside the triangle, you would also see the footprint (outline) of the rectangular block that sits on the left end — it appears as a smaller tilted rectangle inside the triangle.

Step 3: Match to the options.

• Option A: An inverted triangle with a small tilted rectangle inside. ✓ This matches perfectly — the large triangle is the base footprint, and the smaller rectangle is the top face of the raised block.
• Option B: An L-shaped outline — this would require an L-shaped base, which does not match the stepped side view.
• Option C: A triangle with only a smaller triangle inside — no rectangular block is shown, so this doesn't match.
• Option D: An inverted triangle with two separate rectangles — this suggests a more complex two-block structure, not the single stepped profile shown.

The correct top view is Option A.

Step 1: Translate the clues into a ranking.

The two clues tell us:

• Dinosaur is on a higher level than insect.
• Mineral is on a higher level than insect.

So both dinosaur and mineral are above insect.

Step 2: Work out where insect must go.

There are only three levels: ground (lowest), first, second (highest).

Both dinosaur and mineral must be higher than insect. That means insect cannot be on the first or second level — it would need at least two levels below it, but there is only one level above the ground.

So insect must be on the ground level.

Second: Dinosaur or Mineral (we don't know which)
 First: Mineral or Dinosaur (we don't know which)
Ground: Insect  ← the only possibility

Dinosaur and mineral fill the first and second levels in some order, but we can't tell which is first and which is second from the clues.

Step 3: Check each statement.

• Option A: "Ground level = dinosaur" → False, ground = insect. ✗
• Option B: "First level = mineral" → Maybe, but mineral could equally be on the second level. Not certain. ✗
• Option C: "Second level = insect" → False, insect is on the ground. ✗
• Option D: "Ground level = insect" → Always true — insect must be at the bottom. ✓

The ground level must have the insect exhibits.