DAT PAT Angle Ranking Strategy: Elimination

For each Angle Ranking question in the PAT section of the DAT, you are given four angles labeled 1–4 that you must rank in increasing order from smallest to largest interior angle.
Some angles may be so close in size (such as a difference of only two degrees) that assigning the order of them unambiguously is almost impossible. However, you will be able to use the answer choices to help you eliminate based on the other angles and possibly find the correct answer without needing to identify the full ranking first. This strategy is illustrated in the following example:

It is difficult to ascertain which angle is larger, 2 or 3. However, if you can see that 4 is the smallest angle, you can eliminate (A) and (B), and then seeing that 1 is the largest angle will confirm that (A) is incorrect and also eliminate (C). This leaves only choice (D) as the correct answer and doesn’t require determining whether 2 or 3 is smaller.
Although not necessarily easier than the other perceptual ability questions, the Angle Ranking questions on the DAT don’t require 3D manipulation and can be completed very quickly. Spending no more than five minutes on the 15 Angle Ranking questions at the rate of 20 seconds per question will allow you to spend longer on the more time-consuming subsections in the PAT.
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