NationStates Jolt Archive

How good are your visio-spatial skills?

Play around with this game and see how many you can get right.

http://www.mathsnet.net/geometry/solid/houses.html

Poll coming

I really liked my solution to figure 10. So simple and elegant. :D

edit: A green dot by the name of the problem means you have right shape, but too many blocks. A yellow dot means you the right shape with the minimum amount of dots.

Difficult. Working on 5.

EDIT: Gave up after 7. It's too early. :p (Even though it is 2pm)

Difficult. Working on 5.Do you mean you're stuck on five, or that you've been working through them and are currently on 5, but acknowledging that they're tricky... only because I found 5 to be one of the simpler ones. Maybe that's just due to the way I approached it.

I've found that these tests are not very indicative of "visio-spatial" skills.

As an example, I know quite a few kids who are remarkably good at throwing, catching, and hitting a baseball - a skill that requires quite a bit of "visio-spatial" skills in terms of ballistic prediction (a feat that modern computers and radar struggle with) - but who probably couldn't score very well on this test.

Do you mean you're stuck on five, or that you've been working through them and are currently on 5, but acknowledging that they're tricky... only because I found 5 to be one of the simpler ones. Maybe that's just due to the way I approached it.

I think they take some thought processing, and at the time I was working on number 5.

Like most tests, I now cannot remember anything about them. :rolleyes: :D

Their solutions to 6 and 8 is suboptimal: Q6 can be done with 10 blocks rather than 11, and Q8 can be done with just 12 rather than 16.

I've found that these tests are not very indicative of "visio-spatial" skills.

As an example, I know quite a few kids who are remarkably good at throwing, catching, and hitting a baseball - a skill that requires quite a bit of "visio-spatial" skills in terms of ballistic prediction (a feat that modern computers and radar struggle with) - but who probably couldn't score very well on this test.As far as I'm aware what you are talking about is more frequently refered to as a motor skill. Where when 'visio-spatial' normally refers to the part of the non-verbal reasoning ability. Two very separate skills.

I think they take some thought processing, and at the time I was working on number 5.

Like most tests, I now cannot remember anything about them. :rolleyes: :DAh, so the latter then. Aren't all tests like that? I can never remember anything about a test after I've done it.

As far as I'm aware what you are talking about is more frequently refered to as a motor skill. Where when 'visio-spatial' normally refers to the part of the non-verbal reasoning ability. Two very separate skills.

Try shooting a very long distance sometime.

You have two choices:

Buy a laser rangefinder and a ballistic computer, and come up with how you're going to compensate for wind (wind will blow the bullet left or right), compensate for angle (shooting up hill or down hill towards the target), and compensate for the bullet's ballistic coefficient (it drops a certain amount according to distance and initial velocity).

Or, you could just be someone who can do those calculations in their head - merely by visualizing the flight path of the bullet - and being correct more often than the laser rangefinder and ballistic computer.

Not a motor skill there.

Try shooting a very long distance sometime.

You have two choices:

Buy a laser rangefinder and a ballistic computer, and come up with how you're going to compensate for wind (wind will blow the bullet left or right), compensate for angle (shooting up hill or down hill towards the target), and compensate for the bullet's ballistic coefficient (it drops a certain amount according to distance and initial velocity).

Or, you could just be someone who can do those calculations in their head - merely by visualizing the flight path of the bullet - and being correct more often than the laser rangefinder and ballistic computer.

Not a motor skill there.Yes, but shooting a gun and playing baseball are two different activities.

9 out of 10, but my kid helped me with one.

Yes, but shooting a gun and playing baseball are two different activities.

Oddly related, if you are someone who can hit the ball to a desired location with consistency, on demand.

I can get them all green, but only 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 yellow.

I can get them all green, but only 4, 5, and 6 yellow.

my kid helped me with 5, 6 is still yellow.

If this was timed, I don't think I'd managed to get all of ten of them.

Now got all yellow except 1, 2, and 10.

I honestly don't see how you can use only 16 cubes in number 10.

Zero. I can't even do the first one with less than 23...

Zero. I can't even do the first one with less than 23...

I'm currently stuck at 18 for the first one, but I think #5 is the easiest of the bunch.

Very cool. 10/10 ;)
But no prize??? :eek:

I can get them all green, but only 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 yellow.There is green?

I now have ten lovely yellow dots. That was really fun; thanks for the link! :)

Got them all eventually. It seemed really hard at first, but I got the hang of it.

Seeing as I'm a dork, I decided to write out a little "answer key" of my solutions for these puzzles. It follows in white text, so if one of them is really bugging you, feel free to take a peek. :)

Basically, these are little horizontal cross sections, as they would be seen from above, taken from the bottom layer of blocks to the top. X's represent blocks; O's represent empty spaces.

Here ya go:

figuur 1:

oxoo
ooox
xooo
ooxo

ooox
oooo
oooo
xooo

xooo
oooo
oooo
ooox

ooxo
xooo
ooox
oxoo

figuur 2:

xooo
oooo
oooo
oxxx

xooo
oooo
oooo
ooox

xooo
oooo
oooo
ooox

ooox
xoox
xoox
xooo

figuur 3:

oxoo
xooo
ooox
ooxo

xooo
oooo
oooo
ooox

xooo
oooo
oooo
ooox

xooo
oxoo
ooxo
ooox

figuur 4:

oxoo
xooo
ooox
ooxo

oooo
ooox
xooo
oooo

oooo
ooox
xooo
oooo

ooxo
ooox
xooo
oxoo

figuur 5:

ooox
ooxo
oxoo
xooo

oooo
ooxo
oxoo
oooo

oooo
ooxo
oxoo
oooo

ooox
ooxo
oxoo
xooo

figuur 6:

ooox
oooo
oooo
xooo

ooox
ooxx
oooo
xxoo

oooo
oxoo
oxoo
xxoo

oooo
oooo
oooo
oooo

figuur 7:

ooox
ooxo
oxoo
xooo

oooo
oooo
oooo
xooo

oooo
oooo
oooo
xooo

ooox
oxoo
ooxo
xooo

figuur 8:

xoox
oooo
oooo
xoox

oxxo
oooo
oooo
oxxo

oooo
oxxo
oxxo
oooo

xoox
oooo
oooo
xoox

figuur 9:

xooo
oooo
oooo
xoox

xooo
oooo
ooox
oxxo

xoox
oooo
oooo
oooo

xooo
xoox
xxxo
oooo

figuur 10:

xooo
oxoo
ooxo
ooox

oxoo
xooo
ooox
ooxo

ooxo
ooox
xooo
oxoo

ooox
ooxo
oxoo
xooo

Now got all yellow except 1, 2, and 10.

I honestly don't see how you can use only 16 cubes in number 10.This how I got fig10. Pretty much the same answer as Poli, only in an image format.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/jackheh/fig10.png

I found 10 the easiest :confused:

It took me forever to get the first one, but after that they were all pretty easy.

edit: 9 took me a little while too.

This makes no sense to me.

I found 10 the easiest :confused:At a very rough estimate I think there are at least 48 different ways to solve 10.

This how I got fig10. Pretty much the same answer as Poli, only in an image format.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/jackheh/fig10.png

That's a nice looking one - I just looked from the top, and filled in all the gaps, 4 cubes per layer, never re-using the same horizontal location.

Stupid yellow dots. I did all 10 straight through, got 2 yellows and 8 greens. I was sure that the yellows were the bad ones, not the greens, until I came back and reread the OP.

Then I spent about 40 minutes on the first one, about 15 minutes getting the next few, and 10 minutes each on the last two.

But got all of them in the end and it was a good mental workout once I figured out wtf I was supposed to be doing.

I did it all! I thought I was special, until I voted and saw everyone else had that too...

It wasn't too hard, number 1 actually took me wayy longer than any of the other ones... five probably took me the least amount of time. But I'm done.

Did all 10, though for some reason no 2 didn't seem to accept that I had fulfilled the required shapes in the required number of cubes, and no 9 didn't like it that I'd done it in 13 rather than its 'minimum' of 16. Meh.

Did all 10, though for some reason no 2 didn't seem to accept that I had fulfilled the required shapes in the required number of cubes, and no 9 didn't like it that I'd done it in 13 rather than its 'minimum' of 16. Meh.Post a picture of your solutions. I want to see. Because I know RLI posted some corrections earlier as well, but I managed to figure those out on my own.

Did all 10, though for some reason no 2 didn't seem to accept that I had fulfilled the required shapes in the required number of cubes, and no 9 didn't like it that I'd done it in 13 rather than its 'minimum' of 16. Meh.

Yeah, there were two or three that can actually be done with fewer cubes than they demand, as I recall. I sort of figured that the puzzle's creator had done that on purpose, since figuring out where to add cubes can almost be as much a challenge as figuring out where to remove them, but that may just be me giving them too much credit.

Did all 10, though for some reason no 2 didn't seem to accept that I had fulfilled the required shapes in the required number of cubes, and no 9 didn't like it that I'd done it in 13 rather than its 'minimum' of 16. Meh.

Number 9 has a 'minimum' of 15. I don't see how you managed to do it in 13.

It brings up an interesting question though.... how do you determine what the minimum number is?

Obviously, we can say that the minimum must be greater than or equal to the surface area of the view with the largest squares filled.

Number 9 has a 'minimum' of 15. I don't see how you managed to do it in 13.

It brings up an interesting question though.... how do you determine what the minimum number is?

Obviously, we can say that the minimum must be greater than or equal to the surface area of the view with the largest squares filled.

I think I did it in 13-ish too. I remember....it took a few less than what they said.

I think I did it in 13-ish too. I remember....it took a few less than what they said.

Woah. When'd you get back?

And, I noticed on one level, don't remember which, that I had to add a cube to bring it up to the right number, because I did it in one less than it required. Made me feel special.

I think I did it in 13-ish too. I remember....it took a few less than what they said.

We are talking of 9, and not 8 here, aye?

We are talking of 9, and not 8 here, aye?

Yes.
6 can be done in 10. (The largest surface area)
8 can be done in 12. (The largest surface area)

Here's a diagram of 9. An o represents a space that must be filled. An x represents a space that can be filled. A _ represents a space that cannot be filled.

Top Level
x__x
o__o
xoox
____


o__o
____
____
____

x__x
____
xxxx
xoox

x__x
____
____
x__x
Bottom Level

Yes.
6 can be done in 10. (The largest surface area)
8 can be done in 12. (The largest surface area)

Here's a diagram of 9. An o represents a space that must be filled. An x represents a space that can be filled. A _ represents a space that cannot be filled.

Top Level
x__x
o__o
xoox
____


o__o
____
____
____

x__x
____
xxxx
xoox

x__x
____
____
x__x
Bottom Level

Yes, one can realize that much. We wanted to see this solution with 13 cubes, remember?

You have corrupted my mind....now I will forever be addicted to online house-building geometry games..... :p

edit: besides NSG of course

Letters now represent a specific block. x's now represent blocks that must be present.

Top
a__b
x__x
cxxd
____


x__x
____
____
____

e__f
____
ghij
kxxl

m__n
____
____
o__p
Bottom

block groups: one must remain
a|b, c|g, d|j, e|f, k|o, l|p, m|n, m|o, n|p, o|p, g|h|i|j

h and i can be eliminated.
a|b, c|g, d|j, e|f, g|j, k|o, l|p, m|n, m|o, n|p, o|p

Groups which share the same letters can be condensed:
ab, ef, (c&j)|(d&g), (m&p&k)|(n&o&l)

The minimum amount of additional blocks is:
1+1+2+3 = 7.
7 additional + 8 which must always be there (the x's) = 15. The minimum is 15. I think that's a conclusive proof. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, one can realize that much. We wanted to see this solution with 13 cubes, remember?

No need to by snyde. I was working on it. It's not that simple of a problem.

10 out of 10

interesting excercise. It took me a while to figure out the Green/Yellow indicators.

Anyone else try working backwards? I probably worked on the first one for 20 minutes before switching to another one. When I tried again while working backwards, I probably did it in 2. More specifically:

1. Click the "Fill up" button.
2. Erase the blocks so that they match the pictures. This should give you the green circle.
3. Erase the redundancies (the hard part). Watch the green circle to make sure it doesn't disappear - if it does, replace the block.

Letters now represent a specific block. x's now represent blocks that must be present.

Top
a__b
x__x
cxxd
____


x__x
____
____
____

e__f
____
ghij
kxxl

m__n
____
____
o__p
Bottom

block groups: one must remain
a|b, c|g, d|j, e|f, k|o, l|p, m|n, m|o, n|p, o|p, g|h|i|j

h and i can be eliminated.
a|b, c|g, d|j, e|f, g|j, k|o, l|p, m|n, m|o, n|p, o|p

Groups which share the same letters can be condensed:
ab, ef, (c&j)|(d&g), (m&p&k)|(n&o&l)

The minimum amount of additional blocks is:
1+1+2+3 = 7.
7 additional + 8 which must always be there (the x's) = 15. The minimum is 15. I think that's a conclusive proof. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't know. It's math, and it's late at night. The only arithmetic I'm capable of is me + you = :fluffle:

Or whatever, you know. Good job. :cool:

Anyone else try working backwards? I probably worked on the first one for 20 minutes before switching to another one. When I tried again while working backwards, I probably did it in 2. More specifically:

easiest solution I've found was to do that. fill it out and remove the blocks that don't belong. the only one I didn't do that for was puzzle 10.

easiest solution I've found was to do that. fill it out and remove the blocks that don't belong. the only one I didn't do that for was puzzle 10.

I fill it up first and then take away, it's easier.

I still can't get 3 though.....I thought I had it, but I didn't, and I think it's impossible.

I fill it up first and then take away, it's easier.

I still can't get 3 though.....I thought I had it, but I didn't, and I think it's impossible.

3... I did this. fill in the pattern to match the top view. then spin it and make it match the front by removing the unnecessary squares. then spin it to the right view and remove those unnecessary squares. you'ld be left with 8 redundant squares to remove.

... actually, for most of em, that's what I did, I filled in the top pattern, then just removed squares that didn't belong, then removed redundant ones.

Were does it display this minimum?

They can all, for certain, be done. As far as I can tell, only 6 and 8 can be done in less than the minimum.

Were does it display this minimum?

Right below the pictures of what you're supposed to make the top, front, and right look like.

Right below the pictures of what you're supposed to make the top, front, and right look like.
It says number of blocks:

It says number of blocks:

That is the minimum. In other words, if it says "Number of Blocks:16" then the minimum is 16.

3... I did this. fill in the pattern to match the top view. then spin it and make it match the front by removing the unnecessary squares. then spin it to the right view and remove those unnecessary squares. you'ld be left with 8 redundant squares to remove.

... actually, for most of em, that's what I did, I filled in the top pattern, then just removed squares that didn't belong, then removed redundant ones.

*smacks herself on the forehead*

of course! that worked fine! I feel so dumb.....haha, I need to go to bed.

I finally managed to get them all, after nearly giving up on the first one. The 10th one was interesting and reminded me of a cool dream I had once (which had a huge cloud of metallic squares rotating in front of me, showing different shapes depending on the angle viewed :cool: ).

That is the minimum. In other words, if it says "Number of Blocks:16" then the minimum is 16.

It just says "Number of Blocks:"

What are the minimums for 5 and 6? They are the only ones I do not have beaten yet. They are both yellow, but I think I can get them green.

It just says "Number of Blocks:"

What are the minimums for 5 and 6? They are the only ones I do not have beaten yet. They are both yellow, but I think I can get them green.

#5 = 12
#6 = 11

I finally managed to get them all, after nearly giving up on the first one. The 10th one was interesting and reminded me of a cool dream I had once (which had a huge cloud of metallic squares rotating in front of me, showing different shapes depending on the angle viewed :cool: ).

Ten was, um, rather simple wasn't it?

Ten was, um, rather simple wasn't it?
ten gave me Q-Bert flashbacks! :headbang:

#5 = 12
#6 = 11

6 is actually 10. It says 11, but it lies!

Also... yellow means you're done. Green just means that you've got the views from each angle correct.

6 is actually 10. It says 11, but it lies!

Also... yellow means you're done. Green just means that you've got the views from each angle correct.

no, it's 11.

note: it doesn't say that the number is the LEAST amount of blocks, only that you have to USE those number of blocks. ;)

6 is actually 10. It says 11, but it lies!

Also... yellow means you're done. Green just means that you've got the views from each angle correct.

I thought it was green was correct. That would make allot more sense, but it is harder to get the thing yellow.

Ten was, um, rather simple wasn't it?

Simple as in appearance, or in difficulty?

Simple as in appearance, or in difficulty? That was back when I thought green was correct. Although it is not too bad going for yellow either, which I did for all 10.

I've gotten 4 so far. I got 3 yellow and 1 green. I accidentally clicked on another link and now it reset it...

Took me a while(the first was actually the toughest) but I got all ten. *nod*

Now I must go destroy my child's building blocks before they give me nightmares. :eek:

I do apologise, I meant figuur 8, not 9, and did it in 12, not 13. Man, I should learn to type and not close the tab before I've finished writing about something in it.

Finally did it. Like a few others here, I found #1 the toughest and #5 the easiest.