Which Ring? Gold Square
Read the puzzle
Two overlapping rings are labelled HAS 4 SIDES (left) and IS GOLD (right). A blue striped diamond sits in the left ring only, a gold hexagon in the right ring only, and a blue striped triangle outside both. Options: A) blue striped square, B) gold triangle, C) gold square, D) gold circle. Which shape belongs in the middle, where the rings overlap?
Which shape belongs in the middle?
It must have 4 sides and be gold.
C
Only the gold square has 4 sides AND is gold.
How to solve it
The middle of two overlapping rings holds only things that pass both labels at once. So test each option against both rules and cross out any that fail either one.
Rule one, has 4 sides: the blue striped square passes, the gold triangle fails with 3 sides, the gold square passes, and the gold circle fails because it has no straight sides.
Rule two, is gold: the blue striped square fails, while the triangle, square and circle are all gold.
Only one option passes both: C, the gold square.
The usual wrong pick is A, the blue striped square, because its stripes match the diamond already inside the 4-sides ring. It does belong in that ring, but only in the left-only part, like the diamond. Another slip is D, the gold circle, which belongs in the right-only part beside the hexagon.
Quick check: the shapes already placed show the pattern. The diamond is 4-sided but blue, the hexagon is gold but 6-sided, and the triangle outside is neither.
Learn the method: Process of Elimination in Puzzles: Rule Out Until One Is Left
