Post- Purdue Spatial Visualization of Rotations

The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test of Rotations was originally developed as part of a college entrance examination close to 1970. You have 20 minutes to complete the 30 questions.  The results will be used to support research on the impact of the course on students abilities to perceive the effect of rotations on geometric figures.  They measure your current spatial ability only. A follow-up test at semester end will assess the change in your spatial ability.   Please  authentically take the exam (no guessing please) and make your best effort. The computer will automatically time out after 20 minutes. You will get 30 class participation points reqardless of your spatial point score.  Please work alone on this test.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This test consists of 30 questions designed to see how well you can visualize the rotation of three-dimensional objects. Shown below is an example of the type of question included in this test.

You are to:

1. study how the object in the top line of the question is rotated;
2. picture in your mind what the object shown in the middle line of the question looks like when rotated in exactly the same manner;
3. select from among the five drawings (A, B, C, D, or E) given in the bottom line of the question the one that looks like the object rotated in the correct position.

What is the correct answer to the example shown above?

Answers A, B, C, and E are wrong. Only drawing D looks like the object rotated according to the given rotation. In this test each question has only one correct answer.

Now look at the next example shown below and try to select the drawing that looks like the object in the correct position when the given rotation is applied.

Notice that the given rotation in this example is more complex. The correct answer for this example is B. Remember in this test only one answer is correct for each question.