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DAT Cube Counting - A Guided Introduction 2022 [Updated]

DAT Cube counting is usually thought of as an easy section, however, it should not to be taken lightly. In fact, the Perceptual Ability Test doesn’t have problems that are just plain and simple. You’ll likely have to put effort into each and every single question you face on exam day.

What you’ll find below is a simple introduction to cube counting. If you want more material on this subject you should check out some of the resources available at PATCrusher. As with every other section of the PAT and the DAT, you want to practice a lot. After all, most of these problems become much easier once you meet a certain level of preparation.

Introduction to Cube Counting

In a cube counting question you will be presented with a figure made of connecting cubes, all of them are the same size. Your task here is to give the right answer as to how many cubes in the figure would have a certain number of sides painted if a bucket of paint were to be dropped on top. You’ll have to examine the figure and determine how many cubes have either of the following characteristics.

  • Only one side painted.
  • Only two sides painted.
  • Only three sides painted.
  • Only four sides painted.
  • All five sides painted.

Cube Counting Practice

This is it for the basics of cube counting. Let’s review an easy example of this kind of problem below. In the figure below, figure A, how many cubes have one side painted? Painted is also another way of saying exposed.

cube counting
cube counting patcrusher

Cube counting questions can be answered easily based on a simple strategy. This is making a tally table of all the cubes present in the problem. Ideally, you would identify the left side of the table with numbers from 0 to 5, representing the sides painted. Then, you move on to do the tally of every individual line or column of the figure. After you’re done making a tally for every column or line, you then have to make a total by counting the tallies. This should be enough to get the correct answer to the problem. A good way to check is to count the number of cubes in the figure and compare it to the total number of tally marks.

We recommend that you practice at least 10 -12 questions every day. Start your practicing 30-60 days before the exam. The average student studies for the DAT for 45-60 days. Some may need more time or less to grasp the section so start early and see how you feel.

Concluding.

Remember that this is just one example of cube counting for the Perceptual Ability Test of the DAT. You should definitely get a lot more examples and problems to solve.

You can get much more information, practice questions, solving strategies, tips and examples at PATCrusher. Feel free to sign up for a free account. Once you experience the depth of features and quality of the content, you’ll be more than set to prepare for the Perceptual Ability Test of the DAT.

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