The Balance Game is one of the most challenging games in the Arctic Shores collection.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the test’s structure and rules, share some tailored tips alongside sample questions in 3 levels.
Test geek and founder of Aptitude-Test-Prep.com
The Balance test is one of the more challenging tests in Arctic Shore’s collection of gamified mini tests.
The test contains around 10 questions (exact number may vary) and assesses your quantitative and logical skills with a focus on quick problem-solving. You will have only 60 seconds per question.
Each question looks as follows:
By analyzing the data in the scales to the left, you will need to fill in the shapes to balance the scale to the right.
The test is adaptive – solve a question correctly, and the next question will be more challenging. Solve incorrectly, and you get a simpler question.
In the following sections, I’ll provide you with a breakdown of the test rules, tailored tips, and 3 sample questions.
In this section, we’ll quickly review what you can and can’t do when solving Arctic Shores Balance Test equations.
In your answer, you may not repeat the data already presented to you.
For instance, the answer below will not be valid, and you will be shown an error prompt.
Obviously, by moving a shape from one side of the scale to the next will cause the scale to cease being balanced.
This may seem self-evident, but you’ll be surprised by the errors you could make under time pressure.
You cannot make assumptions on variables based on partial content of a scale (unless one variable is an integral multiple of the other.)
It’s the same as adding a term to both sides of the equation.
It’s the same as canceling a term from both sides of the equation.
Same as substituting a value into an equation.
Similarly, same as multiplying both sides of an equation.
This is a tricky one.
Unless you’re giving the trivial solution (see above), you definitely can use the shapes already given in the question.
This practice test contains 3 sample questions – basic, intermediate, and advanced. I’ll be using some tricks from the tips section, so you can either check them out now or review them after solving the samples.
Either way, it’s recommended to check out the test rules section before solving these.
Good luck!
Graphic Solution
In this example we can easily solve the question with a single swap:
Now, cancelling the ellipses on both sides, yielding one acceptable solution:
Yet to understand the range of all possible answers, let’s walk through a mathematical solution.
Mathematical Solution
Let’s denote:
We will assign the value 1 to a random variable. To increase solving speed, it is recommended that this variable is different to the one we are required to find (i.e., circle) – if possible.
Let’s choose the square. s = 1.
That yields two equations:
By adding I and II:
t + c + 2c = 5 + t, and hence, 3c = 5
c = 5/3
Since c is not an integer, we cannot use only s to determine it, and will need to find t as well:
Substituting c into equation I:
t + 5/3 = 2, and hence, t = 1/3
Now, all we need to do is to express the value of c using t and r. And so, the acceptable answers are:
In this section I will provide you with several tips focused on coping with the extremely challenging time frame of the Arctic Shores Balance Test.
These tips may seem a bit vague at first, so make sure you check out how they are applied in practice in the free practice section.
In and of themselves, the questions on the Balance Test are very technical and straightforward. If you can solve systems of equations super fast – you’ll basically need nothing else to ace this test.
Focus on 3 equations in 2 variables or 4 equations in 3 variables – that is the majority of what you’ll encounter on the test.
That would be a bad tip for nearly any other test, but in the Balance Test, you generally have no choice. Unless you’re exceptionally gifted, by the time you’d review the question’s data for shortcuts, 30% or more of your time will pass.
Give yourself a couple of seconds, and unless something stands out immediately – move on to the equations.
This is my way of doing it, although some may find it confusing. By assigning a value to one of the shapes/variables before solving, your final solution will give each shape a numerical value, rather than an expression. I demonstrate that in the free practice section.
Which shape to choose and what value to assign? That is up to you.
As for value, the most obvious choice is 1. However, the downside here is that you will most likely need to work with fractions. Another option is 12, due to its divisible nature, but that will greatly increase the values of other shapes. Experiment and see what works for you.
As for shape, if you choose 1 as the assigned value, I recommend choosing the shape that is not found on the unknown scale. That will allow you using 1 as the basis unit. If you choose a different value, just choose the one which seems most convenient or that appears most commonly in the data.
Arctic Shores
The Arctic Shores test is a collection of short gamified tests designed ...
Learn more
