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Mechanical reasoning tests
Employers use mechanical reasoning tests to see how well you understand gears, levers, pulleys and circuits. Practice on timed picture questions, with a step-by-step solution for every one.
6 tests, 40 questions, 3 months access. 14-day money-back guarantee.
Question 217:36
Gear A turns clockwise. Which gear turns the same way?
Which lever lifts the crate with less effort?
Which bulb lights up?
Answers
Gear A turns clockwise. Which gear turns the same way?
Which lever lifts the crate with less effort?
Which bulb lights up?
Sample questions. Pick an answer to try one yourself.
Free Online Mechanical Tests
325 practicing right now
- Mechanical Reasoning Test 1 4 questions 8 minFreeTake test
- Mechanical 2 5 questions 10 minLocked until you buy the package
- Mechanical 3 5 questions 10 minLocked until you buy the package
- Mechanical 4 5 questions 10 minLocked until you buy the package
- Mechanical 5 (Extended) 10 questions 20 minLocked until you buy the package
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Individual 2026
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Inside Mechanical
- 14 timed numerical tests
- 270+ questions with solutions
- SHL and Kenexa aligned
- Detailed reports with percentile
- 15 timed verbal tests
- 200+ questions with solutions
- True / False / Cannot Say practice
- Detailed reports with percentile
- Includes Logical, Diagrammatic, Inductive
- 16 timed tests with solutions
- SHL-style abstract sequences
- Detailed reports with percentile
- 30 real workplace scenarios
- Preferred-response explanations
- Competency-based assessment
- Detailed reports
- 6 timed mechanical tests
- Gears, levers, circuits, forces
- Step-by-step solutions
- Detailed reports
- Big Five (OCEAN) and BFI-2 frameworks
- Ipsative (most/least) OPQ-style practice
- 32-trait workplace inventory
- Trait-by-trait written reports
All-in-One 2026
40% OFFAll six packages, for £29.95 less than buying them one by one.
3 months unlimited access, no auto-renew.
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- 3 months unlimited access
- 59 tests with 780+ questions
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What to expect from a mechanical reasoning test
A short guide to the test: what it is, who uses it, the formats, what you need to know, the scoring and how to prepare.
What is a mechanical reasoning test?
A mechanical reasoning test checks how well you understand the way physical things work. Each question is about a picture, such as a set of gears, a lever or a circuit, and has a few answers to choose from.
There is little to read and little to calculate: you look at the picture, work out what happens and choose. Real tests allow about half a minute for each question.
Which employers use mechanical reasoning tests?
Employers use them for jobs that mean building, running or repairing equipment. Engineering and manufacturing firms, transport and construction companies, airlines, the emergency services and the armed forces set them for apprentices, technicians and engineers.
The test usually comes early, as a link in an email with a deadline a few days away, often with a second test. Our company pages list the hiring stages at each employer.
What formats do mechanical reasoning tests come in?
The formats differ mostly in length, from SHL's 15 questions in 10 minutes to Wiesen's 60 in 30. The RAF and the Royal Navy use the Defence Aptitude Assessment, which includes a mechanical section.
The email inviting you says which test you will sit, so look up its length first. Every question in our practice tests has three answers, and you can take the tests timed or untimed.
SHL Verify
- Questions
- 15 questions
- Time
- 10 min
Multiple choice on gears, levers and simple structures.
Bennett BMCT-II
- Questions
- 55 questions
- Time
- 25 min
Pearson's test, used in engineering, airlines and the emergency services.
Aon scales mtu
- Questions
- 24 questions
- Time
- 15 min
Picture questions on mechanical and technical principles. Formerly cut-e.
Ramsay MAT
- Questions
- 36 questions
- Time
- 20 min
Household objects, tools and school physics, for apprentices and trainees.
Wiesen WTMA
- Questions
- 60 questions
- Time
- 30 min
Everyday objects, for jobs that use and maintain machinery.
These are the usual formats. Your invitation states the exact number of questions and the time allowed. Bennett, SHL, Aon, Ramsay and Wiesen are trademarks of their owners, who are not connected with this site.
What do you need to know for a mechanical reasoning test?
You need a handful of principles from school physics. Gears, levers, pulleys and circuits are the staples, along with pressure, motion and heat.
Many questions show two versions of a picture, A and B, and ask which one moves faster, lifts more easily or lights up. Find what differs between the two: that difference is the whole question.
- Gears
- Neighbours turn opposite ways
- A turns clockwise, so B turns anticlockwise and C clockwise. B has 8 teeth to A's 12, so it turns faster.
- Levers
- A longer arm needs less force
- Move the pivot nearer the crate and a smaller push lifts it.
- Pulleys
- Each rope shares the load
- A load hanging on two lengths of rope needs half the pull, and twice as much rope pulled through.
- Circuits
- Current needs a closed loop
- An open switch puts out the bulb on its own branch. A bulb on a branch that is still closed stays lit.
How are mechanical reasoning tests scored?
Most tests count the questions you get right, and some also weigh how hard each one was. The result is a percentile, which places you among people who took the same test: at the 70th percentile, 30 in every 100 of them scored higher than you.
The employer sets the pass mark for the job. Our report shows your score, accuracy and percentile after every practice test.
How do you prepare for a mechanical reasoning test?
Learn the principles first, then practice on pictures. For each question you get wrong, read the solution and name the principle behind it: the same ones come back in other pictures.
Then work on speed. Answer the simple questions at a glance, and keep your time for the ones with several moving parts.
Reviews of our practice tests
Reviews of the Mechanical Tests package are shown first.
4.5 out of 5
475 ratings
Stefan K., Vienna
Mechanical Tests
Airbus
Mechanical reasoning for Airbus. Good coverage of the basics, I would say the real test had more on electrical circuits which is missing here. Still worth it.
Gareth P.
Mechanical Tests
Mechanical tests for BAE apprenticeship. Levers, pulleys, gears, all covered. The extended ones are harder than the real thing which is good prep. Got the apprenticeship.
Dan Morgan, Bristol
Logical Tests
Revolut
Revolut ops role had a logical test. Did the inductive and diagrammatic ones here for a week. Passed first go. Decent price too.
Chiara
Good. Sometimes the explanation is a bit short for the harder questions but you can usually work it out from the steps given.
William Hartley
Deutsche Bank tests
DB numerical
Deutsche Bank numerical test passed. The practice tests here are a close match in difficulty and the timer got me used to the pace. Reports after each test are detailed.
Sana
Numerical Tests
Best numerical practice ive found and I tried 3 sites. The solutions show the quickest method not just the correct one.
More online tests
A mechanical test often comes with a numerical or a logical one. Pick a package to see what it covers and who it is for.
Numerical Tests
14 testsDetailed solutionsSHL, Kenexa style
Numerical reasoning tests assess how quickly and accurately you interpret data. Practice SHL and Kenexa style questions with a written step-by-step solution for every answer.
Questions about mechanical tests
Short answers to what candidates ask most.
The full FAQ covers payments and your account. For anything else, write to support@aptitude-tests.co.uk.
No. The questions ask which way something moves, which is faster or which needs less force, and a rule of thumb answers most of them. A few need a simple ratio, such as the teeth of two gears.
No. Employers set these tests for apprentices and trainees as well as engineers, and the questions are about everyday objects. Practice with the pictures matters more than a degree.
Yes. Mechanical reasoning, mechanical comprehension and mechanical aptitude are three names for the same kind of test. Pearson's Bennett test and SHL's are called comprehension tests, and Ramsay's and Wiesen's aptitude tests.
No. The real questions are kept secret, and some publishers give every candidate a different set. Ours are built on the same principles, with pictures of our own.
All six. Together they take 80 minutes with the timer on.
Yes. Mechanical Reasoning Test 1 has 4 questions and an 8-minute limit, with solutions and a full report. You do not need an account or a card.
6 timed tests with 40 questions, each with a step-by-step solution, and a report with your score, accuracy and percentile after every attempt. It costs £9.99 for 3 months unlimited access, no auto-renew.
Yes. Every paid plan has a 14-day money-back guarantee. If something is wrong with the platform or the tests, email us within 14 days of buying. If you have started no more than three tests in a package, or four on the All-in-One, we refund what you paid. Other conditions apply.