What Is in Mawhiba Level 1: The Four Domains with Examples

Last verified: 1 November 2026. The question count, the duration and the definitions of the four domains in this guide come from the national gifted identification program page on the Mawhiba website. They may change, so check before the test. This is an independent guide, not affiliated with the Mawhiba foundation, the Education and Training Evaluation Commission or any government body.

Level 1 of the Mawhiba Multiple Mental Abilities Test is for students in grades 3, 4 and 5 (primary). All three grades sit the same form, but the weighted score is calculated differently for each grade. Your child sits this level only once, so it helps to know what the questions look like before test day. This guide explains what each domain measures, gives one small example per domain and shows where children usually lose marks. The day-by-day plan is in the study plan guide and the sign-up steps are in the registration guide.

The key numbers

Our full mock exam has the same number of questions and time, and splits the questions evenly across the four domains: 16 questions per domain. That is about 26 minutes per domain if you divide the time evenly. We build your child's score report by domain on this split.

Domain 1: Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension

Mawhiba defines it as the ability to use language to process the information and facts available, and to apply language rules to what is read in order to extract and reorganise meanings. At Level 1 the questions use words a child in grades 3 to 5 knows. They include verbal analogies, sentence completion, the word that contradicts the meaning of a sentence, word meaning in context and the odd word out, then a short passage followed by a question on its main idea or a detail.

Example

Pen : writing :: scissors : ? Options: a) paper, b) cutting, c) sewing, d) sharp.

Solution: first ask what links the first two words. A pen is a tool used for writing, so the relation is "tool → its job". The job of scissors is cutting, so the answer is (b). Option (a) is something you cut, not a job, (d) is a quality of scissors and (c) is a task that needs scissors along with other things. The common slip here is picking the word that reminds the child of scissors instead of the word that carries the same relation.

Domain 2: Mathematical and Spatial Reasoning

Mawhiba defines it as the ability to use mathematical skills and logical thinking to reach solutions through specific steps, and to find a logical relation, similarity, match or difference. At Level 1 the questions rely on what the child has studied: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division within 1000, simple fractions, time, money and length, and the perimeter of simple shapes. The question types are short word problems, number and letter sequences, figure sequences and matrices (drawn), and spatial questions such as counting cubes and a shape's reflection in a mirror. There is no calculator.

Example

Salem buys 3 pens at 4 riyals each and a notebook for 5 riyals. How many riyals does he pay?

Solution: the pens cost 3 × 4 = 12 riyals, then add the notebook: 12 + 5 = 17 riyals. The common slip is adding the numbers that appear in the question (3 + 4 + 5 = 12) without asking what each number stands for. Teach your child to write beside each number what it represents before calculating.

Domain 3: Scientific and Mechanical Reasoning

Mawhiba defines it as the ability to use data and facts gained through the senses, experiment and logic to reach new facts, and to draw evidence-based conclusions. At Level 1 the questions draw on what a child knows from daily life and from science lessons: states of matter, plants and animals, magnets, light and shadow, sound and weather. There are also experiments and reading a simple table, gears and the direction they turn, a balance and which side goes down, and the inclined plane.

Example

Three gears mesh in a row. If the first turns clockwise, which way does the third turn?

Solution: two meshing gears turn in opposite directions. The first goes clockwise, so the second goes anticlockwise, so the third goes clockwise again. The answer is clockwise. The common slip is assuming all the gears turn the same way, or jumping to the answer without following the gears one by one.

Domain 4: Mental Flexibility

Mawhiba defines it as the ability to produce varied ideas and to change how one approaches things and situations, by breaking their difficulties into factors that can be used to find solutions. This is the domain furthest from school lessons. At Level 1 it covers codes and symbols, symbol equations and number puzzles, classifying things in more than one way and spotting the odd one out, logic puzzles with two or three conditions, and questions about alternative uses of an object.

Example

In a secret code, the number 123 is written 234 and 507 is written 618. How is 456 written?

Solution: compare each digit before and after the code: 1 became 2, 2 became 3, 3 became 4, 5 became 6, 0 became 1 and 7 became 8. The rule is to add 1 to every digit. So 456 becomes 567. Checking the rule on the second example is a step practised children never skip, because a rule that fits one example can fail on the other.

Where children lose marks

• Reading too fast. A word such as "not", "except" or "less" flips the answer. Ask your child to put a finger under the last words of the question before choosing.
• Taking the first answer that looks right. In multiple-choice questions several options can look reasonable. Checking just one other option is often enough to catch the mistake.
• Drawn questions. Spatial questions and matrices take longer than the rest. Many children do not see a rotation or a reflection quickly, and short daily practice changes that more than memorising does.
• The unfamiliar domain. Mental flexibility is not taught like a class subject, so parents may skip it when revising and the marks drop there. A score broken down by domain shows this early.
• Spending too long on one question. An average of 97 seconds does not mean every question needs the same time. A short language question takes less time than a figure matrix, and the time saved on the first covers the second.

How to use the site with this guide

Start with the 10 free questions, which need no sign-up. Afterwards you see your child's score in each of the four domains and know which is weakest. Then your child practises the weakest domain with ten explained questions, and the mistakes collect in the mistakes notebook. A day or two before the test, your child takes a full mock exam of 64 questions in 103 minutes, which is part of the paid content. Remember that the site's score is the share of correct answers in our practice questions, while the 1000 to 2000 Mawhiba score is calculated by the organisers in a way that accounts for each question's difficulty and the student's grade.

Start from the Level 1 page.