Gear trains, belts, pulleys, levers and hydraulic rams — drawn properly, and answered with the ratio written out rather than guessed.
Free to start. Every item is generated fresh, marked with a full worked solution, and ranked on a 1–9 stanine band that recalibrates as more candidates practise.
6
mechanism families
3 min
timed run
1–9
stanine rank
What it measures
Mechanical comprehension measures whether you can read a mechanism from a drawing and reason about what it does: which way something turns, how fast, how much force is needed, which way pressure moves. It rewards a handful of ratios applied cleanly, not a physics degree.
The format
Where marks are lost
Direction on belt drives, and inverting the ratio. A crossed belt reverses the driven wheel; an open one does not. And on any gear or pulley pair, the larger wheel turns slower but pulls harder — half of all wrong answers are the reciprocal of the right one, sitting in the option list waiting.
Why practise here
Six mechanism families with diagrams drawn from the real geometry — belt tangents computed, teeth counted, not sketched
Every answer shows the ratio written out, with the units carried through
Distractors include the inverted ratio and the wrong-unit answer, because those are the mistakes that actually happen
Direction questions on both open and crossed belts, which most free practice skips entirely
A stanine band so you know whether your score is competitive for a technical scheme
Where you will meet it
Hiring stages where this format is commonly used. Persona Prep is not affiliated with SHL and does not reproduce their questions — we build practice in the same format, from our own generators.
With Persona Prep Pro
One subscription covers the whole assessment library, not just this exercise — because almost nobody is invited to sit only one module.
The full aptitude library
SHL Verify, Aon cut-e, Hogan and Saville formats — numerical, verbal, inductive, deductive, mechanical, checking and the interactive modules.
A rank, not just a score
Every run is placed on a 1–9 stanine band that recalibrates as the candidate pool grows, so you know your position.
A course per exercise
What it measures, the trap that costs marks, and worked items from every format — then the exercise itself.
Unlimited fresh items
Everything is generated, so you never run out and never memorise a bank.
Written + voice AI coach
Reads your results across exercises and tells you which two to fix first.
Personality practice too
SHL OPQ32, Hogan HPI/HDS/MVPI, Saville Wave, ADEPT-15 and 16PF, with full profile reports.
A mechanical comprehension test shows a labelled mechanism — gears, belts, pulleys, levers, hydraulics — and asks about direction, speed, force or pressure. It tests whether you can read a mechanism from a drawing and apply a small set of ratios cleanly, not whether you know physics formally.
For meshed gears, speed is inversely proportional to tooth count: the larger gear turns slower and delivers more torque. Meshed gears turn in opposite directions; a belt drive keeps direction unless the belt is crossed. About half of all wrong answers on these items are the reciprocal of the right one.
Six families: meshed gear trains, open and crossed belt drives, compound gear ratios, pulley blocks, levers and hydraulic pistons. The diagrams are drawn from the real geometry — belt tangents are computed and teeth are counted — rather than sketched approximately.
Engineering and maintenance apprenticeships, technician roles, armed forces and emergency services selection, manufacturing and process industries, and aviation ground and flight crew recruitment.
SHL
Verify Inductive Reasoning
A row of figures changes by one consistent rule. Find the rule, pick what comes next. No numbers, no words, no cultural loading — which is exactly why employers like it.
Aon
cut-e (Aon) assessment battery
cut-e is not one test — it is a set of very short, very fast interactive modules, and each one punishes a different habit. Practise them the way they are actually served.
SHL
Checking
A reference record, a copy, and a clock. Say whether they match. Simple to describe, and the format where careless speed is punished hardest.
Playable sample questions, worked solutions, instant feedback.
What candidates commonly report facing, and which format to train.
All employers →