Connecting Parts

🧩 Connecting Parts

Part 1 of 7: What Connector Items Look Like

Assembling Objects (AO) is the one ASVAB subtest with no reading, no formulas and no facts to memorize. The official description says it measures your "ability to determine how an object will look when its parts are put together." Every question is a picture puzzle.

AO on the CAT-ASVAB

Some questions on any CAT subtest may be unscored tryout items, and the time limit is longer when they are included. You cannot tell which ones they are, so treat every question as if it counts.

Other versions. The paper enlistment ASVAB also has AO (25 questions in 15 minutes, about 36 seconds each). The high-school ASVAB (the Career Exploration Program test) does not include AO, so if you only took the test at school, this subtest is new to you.

Why it matters. AO is not part of your AFQT, the score that decides whether you can enlist. It does count for jobs: the Navy's MEC2 composite is AR + MC + AO and its OPS composite is AR + MK + AO + VE, and many Navy ratings list AO in their score standards. The Army, Marine Corps and Air Force composites in the official definitions do not use AO. If the Navy is on your list, AO points are real points.

Two kinds of AO questions

1. Connector items (this lesson): shapes with lettered points, joined by a line.
2. Shape items (the next lesson): loose pieces that fit together into one figure.

This Lesson

Anatomy of a Connector Item

A connector item has a top box and four answer figures.

In the top box you see:

• Two shapes. Each has a dot with a letter on it, such as A on one shape and B on the other.
• A straight line whose two ends carry the same letters, A and B.

Your job: pick the figure where the line's A end touches the shape exactly at point A, and its B end touches the other shape exactly at point B.

What may change in the answers:

• The whole picture may be turned to a new angle.
• Each shape may be turned to face any direction.

What may NOT change:

• The shapes themselves: same kind of shape, same size, same proportions.
• Where the points sit on each shape.
• In this course, a shape is never flipped into its mirror image. Official materials do not spell out a flipping rule, so we use the safe one: a turned shape is the same shape, and a flipped lopsided shape counts as a different one. If two real answer choices differ only by a flip, choose the one that is only turned.

Key Fact: Three checks decide every connector item: the right shapes, the right spot for A, and the right spot for B. A figure that fails any one check is wrong, no matter how good it looks otherwise.

Worked Example: Your First Connector Item

Point A is in the middle of one side of the square. Point B is on the edge of the circle. The correct figure must show the line running from the middle of a square side to the edge of a circle.

Check each figure against the box:

1. Is each shape the same shape and size as in the box?
2. Does one end of the line touch the square exactly where A is?
3. Does the other end touch the circle exactly where B is?

Answer: Figure 4. Point A is at the middle of a side of the square; point B is at a point on the edge of the circle. Figure 4 joins the line to exactly those two spots, and its shapes are only turned, which is allowed. Figure 1 attaches the line to a corner of the square, not the middle of a side. Figure 2 uses an oval where the box has a circle. In Figure 3 the line never reaches the circle, so the objects do not touch.

Warm-up 1. Find point A and point B in the top box first, then check the four figures.

Warm-up 2. When a point is at the center of a shape, the line has to reach all the way in to that center.

Warm-up 3. The rules in one question.

Key Takeaways: Part 1

• AO is the last CAT-ASVAB subtest: 15 questions in 18 minutes, about 72 seconds each
• It is not in the AFQT, but the Navy uses it (MEC2, OPS and many ratings)
• A connector item joins two shapes with a line; the line's lettered ends must touch the matching lettered points
• Shapes may be turned; they may not be resized, re-pointed or (in this course) flipped

Up Next: Part 2: naming the spot where each point sits, so you can find it on a turned shape.

🧩 Connecting Parts

Part 2 of 7: Finding the Lettered Points

Most wrong answers on connector items attach the line to the right shape at the wrong spot. The fix is to name each point in words before you look at the answers.

Where points sit

Describe by features, not by direction

"The top-left corner" stops being true the moment the shape turns. "The square corner" or "the middle of the longest side" stays true at every angle. Use features that travel with the shape:

• Which side? longest, shortest, slanted, curved, flat
• Which corner? square (90°), sharpest, widest, the tip
• Where on the side? the middle, or one end of it

On a shape where every side is the same (a square, a regular hexagon), "a corner" or "the middle of a side" is enough: every corner looks alike, so any corner is correct.

On a right triangle the three corners are all different (square, sharpest, and the one in between), and so are the three side middles (long leg, short leg, slanted side). On a circle, the center and a point on the edge are the only two kinds of spot.

Worked Example: Name the Spot, Then Hunt for It

Point A sits in the middle of the slanted (longest) side of the right triangle. Point B is on a corner of the square. Say both in words before you look at the answers; the words stay true no matter how the shapes are turned.

Answer: Figure 1. Point A is at the middle of the slanted (longest) side of the right triangle; point B is at a corner of the square. Figure 1 joins the line to exactly those two spots, and its shapes are only turned, which is allowed. Figure 2 attaches the line to the sharpest corner, at the end of the long leg of the right triangle, not the middle of the slanted (longest) side. Figure 3 attaches the line to the middle of the long leg of the right triangle, not the middle of the slanted (longest) side. Figure 4 attaches the line to the middle of a side of the square, not a corner.

Check 1. Is point A on a long side or a short side of the rectangle? Is point B on the flat edge or the curved edge of the half circle?

Check 2. Describe point A on the trapezoid in words first.

Check 3. Tip, back end or shoulder? Corner or middle of a side?

Check 4. Name the spot so it survives a turn. 🔽

Key Takeaways: Part 2

• Name each point in words before looking at the answers
• Use features that turn with the shape: longest side, square corner, tip, curved edge, center
• Never use screen directions ("top," "left"); they change when the shape turns
• On shapes with all sides equal, any corner (or any side middle) matches

Up Next: Part 3: turned shapes versus flipped shapes, and the clockwise walk that tells them apart.

🧩 Connecting Parts

Part 3 of 7: Turned Shapes: Rotation Without Flipping

The answer figures almost never show a shape at the same angle as the top box. That is fine: turning (rotating) a shape is allowed. What is not allowed in this course is flipping a shape over, which produces its mirror image.

Turned vs flipped

Picture a shape cut out of cardboard lying on a table.

• Turning = spinning it on the table. It is still the same piece, facing a new way.
• Flipping = picking it up and laying it face down. For a lopsided shape, the result is a mirror image that no amount of spinning will turn back into the original.

When does a flip matter?

So flip traps only appear when a shape is lopsided (no mirror line). When you see one, run the check below.

The clockwise walk

1. In the top box, put your finger on the lettered point.
2. Walk clockwise around the edge. What do you meet first: a long side or a short side? A square corner or a sharp one?
3. Do the same walk on the shape in an answer figure.
4. Same answer: the shape was only turned. Opposite answer: it was flipped, so that figure is wrong.

In all three turned copies, walking clockwise from the dot takes you down the slanted side to the sharp corner and then along the long edge. In the flipped copy the same walk takes you to the short edge first. The flipped copy is a different piece.

Worked Example: Catching a Flip

Point A is the sharpest corner of the right triangle, at the end of the long leg. Two figures attach the line to a sharp-looking corner, so use the clockwise walk: stand on point A and walk clockwise around the triangle. In the box, which side do you travel along first, the long leg or the slanted side? A turned triangle gives the same answer. A flipped one gives the opposite answer.

Answer: Figure 1. Point A is at the sharpest corner, at the end of the long leg of the right triangle; point B is at a point on the edge of the circle. Figure 1 joins the line to exactly those two spots, and its shapes are only turned, which is allowed. Figure 2 shows the right triangle flipped over (a mirror image), and no turn makes it match the box. Figure 3 attaches the line to the corner at the end of the short leg of the right triangle, not the sharpest corner, at the end of the long leg. Figure 4 attaches the line to the center of the circle, not a point on the edge.

Check 1. In the box, which way does the foot of the L stick out? Turning cannot change that; only a flip can.

Check 2. Use the clockwise walk from point A on the trapezoid.

Check 3. A parallelogram leans one way. Which way does it lean in the box, and does a turned copy still lean the same way?

Check 4. When is a flip worth checking?

Key Takeaways: Part 3

• Turning a shape is allowed; flipping it into a mirror image is not (in this course)
• Flips only matter for lopsided shapes: scalene right triangles, L shapes, right trapezoids, leaning parallelograms
• Clockwise walk: from the point, what comes first going clockwise? Same in the box and the answer = turned; opposite = flipped
• Do the flip check last: it is the slowest check, and the other checks often settle the item first

Up Next: Part 4: the line itself, where it must end, and the figures where it stops short.

🧩 Connecting Parts

Part 4 of 7: Checking the Connector Line

The line is what joins the two shapes, so each of its ends is a checkpoint.

Rules for the line

What does NOT matter

• The angle of the line. The whole picture can be turned, so the line may run across, up and down, or on a slant.
• The line's length. It may be drawn longer in the answers than in the top box, especially when it has to reach into a shape's center. Only where its ends land counts.
• Which shape is on which side. A figure may show the A-shape on the right and the B-shape on the left. Follow the letters, not the left-to-right order.

Read the line from end to end

For each figure:

1. Start at one end of the line. Which shape does it touch, and at what spot?
2. Move to the other end. Same two questions.
3. Compare both answers with the top box.

Key Fact: A line that stops just short of a shape is not "close enough." The question asks how the objects touch, and a gap means they do not.

Worked Example: Where the Line Ends

Point A is the center of the hexagon, so the line must run into the hexagon and stop at its middle. Point B is a corner of the rectangle, so the other end must touch that corner exactly: not near it, not past it.

Answer: Figure 1. Point A is at the center of the hexagon; point B is at a corner of the rectangle. Figure 1 joins the line to exactly those two spots, and its shapes are only turned, which is allowed. Figure 2 attaches the line to a corner of the hexagon, not the center. In Figure 3 the line never reaches the rectangle, so the objects do not touch. Figure 4 attaches the line to the middle of a long side of the rectangle, not a corner.

Check 1. Follow the line from end to end in each figure.

Check 2. One end goes to the curved edge of the half circle; the other goes into the pentagon.

Check 3. Point A is the square corner (the point) of the quarter circle.

Match the letters. Which figure shows how the objects in the top box connect? Type the figure number (1, 2, 3 or 4).

Check 4. Line rules. 🔽

Key Takeaways: Part 4

• Each end of the line must land exactly on its lettered spot
• Center points: the line goes into the shape and stops at the middle
• Edge points: the line touches the edge and stays outside
• A gap between the line and a shape is always wrong
• Ignore the line's angle and which shape is on the left; follow the letters

Up Next: Part 5: shapes that look alike (pentagon or hexagon? square or rectangle?) and size traps.

🧩 Connecting Parts

Part 5 of 7: Look-Alike Shapes and Size Traps

Some wrong figures attach the line perfectly but swap in a shape that only resembles the one in the box. These are the fastest figures to eliminate, once you know to look.

Common look-alike pairs

Proportions, not just size

In this course the answer figures are drawn at the same scale as the top box. Even so, proportions are easier to judge than sizes: a rectangle that is about twice as long as it is wide in the box must be about twice as long as it is wide in the correct figure, however it is turned.

Check the shapes first

Shape checks take two or three seconds per figure and often knock out one or two choices before you study any points. Make them your first pass:

1. Same two kinds of shape?
2. Same proportions?
3. Then go on to the points (Part 2) and the flip check (Part 3).

Worked Example: Is It Really the Same Shape?

Before checking points, check the shapes. The box has a pentagon (five corners) and a rectangle about twice as long as it is wide. Count corners on any many-sided shape, and compare length to width on rectangles.

Answer: Figure 4. Point A is at a corner of the pentagon; point B is at the middle of a long side of the rectangle. Figure 4 joins the line to exactly those two spots, and its shapes are only turned, which is allowed. Figure 1 uses a hexagon where the box has a pentagon. Figure 2 draws the rectangle with the wrong proportions (a different length-to-width shape). Figure 3 attaches the line to the middle of a short side of the rectangle, not the middle of a long side.

Check 1. Round or oval? Square or rectangle?

Check 2. Count the corners, and compare how tall the triangle is with the box.

Check 3. Check the rectangle's proportions and the curved shape's type before you check the points.

Check 4. A quick test for look-alikes.

Key Takeaways: Part 5

• Look-alike swaps: pentagon/hexagon, circle/oval, square/rectangle, half/quarter circle
• Count corners on many-sided shapes; it takes two seconds
• Judge proportions (length compared with width), which stay the same when a shape turns
• Run the shape check first: it is the fastest way to cut the choices

Up Next: Part 6: putting the checks in order, timing, and the most common traps.

🧩 Connecting Parts

Part 6 of 7: Strategy, Timing and Traps

Your time budget

On the computer test, the screen shows your remaining time and remaining questions in the lower-right corner. Seventy-two seconds is plenty for a connector item if you use a fixed routine instead of staring at all four figures at once.

The four-check routine

1. Shapes (about 10 seconds): same two kinds of shape, same proportions? Cross out look-alikes.
2. Point A (about 15 seconds): name it in words, then check where the line meets that shape in each remaining figure.
3. Point B (about 15 seconds): same for the other shape.
4. Flip check (only if needed): if two figures survive and a shape is lopsided, do the clockwise walk.

Most items are settled by check 3. If you are past about two minutes on one item, choose the best survivor and move on.

CAT rules that shape your strategy

• No going back. Once you answer, the question is gone. Finish your checks before you click.
• You answer each question to move on. The CAT has no skip-and-return, so make your best pick on every item.
• If time runs short, keep really answering. Official guidance warns that the CAT applies a relatively large penalty when several incorrect answers come toward the end of a subtest, so rapid random clicking can hurt. Unfinished questions at the time limit are scored as if you had guessed at random. On the paper test, by contrast, there is no penalty for guessing, so answer every question.
• AO comes last. You will have been testing for a while. Take one slow breath before you start; the routine does the rest.

The traps to watch for

Timed practice 1. Aim for about 70 seconds: shapes, then point A, then point B, then the flip check.

Timed practice 2. Same routine. Point A is the inside corner of the L.

Check 3. Timing and test rules. 🔽

Key Takeaways: Part 6

• CAT pace: about 72 seconds per AO question (paper: about 36)
• Routine: shapes → point A → point B → flip check
• No going back on the CAT, and no skipping: decide, then click
• Short on time? Keep making real choices; random strings of wrong answers late in a subtest are penalized
• Traps: neighbor spot, flip, look-alike, short line, and correct figures with the shapes swapped

Up Next: Part 7: a ten-question mastery check.

🧩 Connecting Parts

Part 7 of 7: Mastery Check

Ten connector items in a mix of difficulty, like a stretch of the real subtest. Give yourself about 12 minutes (72 seconds each) and use the routine on every one:

1. Shapes: same kinds, same proportions?
2. Point A: name it, then check it.
3. Point B: name it, then check it.
4. Flip check if two figures survive and a shape is lopsided.

Read the explanation after each item, especially the ones you get right by a hunch.

Mastery 1 of 10.

Mastery 2 of 10.

Mastery 3 of 10.

Mastery 4 of 10.

Mastery 5 of 10.

Mastery 6 of 10.

Mastery 7 of 10.

Mastery 8 of 10.

Mastery 9 of 10.

Mastery 10 of 10.

Connecting Parts: Summary 🎓

The Connector Checklist

1. Shapes: same kind (count corners), same proportions
2. Point A: named by a feature (square corner, longest side, center, curved edge) and touched exactly
3. Point B: same test
4. Line: touches at both ends; runs into the shape for a center point; never stops short
5. Flip: clockwise walk for lopsided shapes; a mirror image is wrong

Key Fact: About 72 seconds per question on the CAT. A fixed routine is faster than staring at four figures and hoping one jumps out.

Up Next: the second kind of AO question, in Fitting Shapes Together.