Consider the visual pattern rule shown below. If the label "Ref Fig / 12 34" transforms into the pattern shown after the arrow under a fixed rule, then applying the same rule to the label "GATE - 2026 / Aptitude Test" produces which one of the patterns P, Q, R, S shown below?
Show Hint
Work out precisely what the example figure does to "Ref Fig / 12 34" (line order swap plus a 180-degree turn of every character), then apply that same rule to "GATE - 2026 / Aptitude Test".
Step 1: Read off the rule from the example. The example takes the two-line label "Ref Fig" over "12 34" and turns it into the pattern shown after the arrow. In that result, the line that was on the bottom ("12 34") now sits on top, and the line that was on top ("Ref Fig") now sits at the bottom. Inside each line, every letter and digit is flipped upside down and the left-to-right order of the characters is reversed.
Step 2: Name this rule. Swapping the order of the two lines while turning every character upside down and reversing its order along the line is exactly what happens when the whole label is rotated by \(180^{\circ}\) about its own centre, the way a printed card looks after being spun half way around flat on a table.
Step 3: Apply the same rule to the new label. The new label is "GATE - 2026" over "Aptitude Test". Rotating this whole block by \(180^{\circ}\) puts the "Aptitude Test" line on top and the "GATE - 2026" line at the bottom, with every letter, digit and hyphen turned upside down and read in reverse order along each line.
Step 4: Compare with the four patterns. Patterns P, Q and S each break the rule in one place: either the two lines keep their original order instead of swapping, or the characters are only mirror-reflected left to right instead of being rotated a full \(180^{\circ}\) (a plain mirror reflection does not turn a character fully upside down), or the year digits do not match a genuine \(180^{\circ}\) turn of "2026". Pattern R is the only one showing "Aptitude Test" on top, "GATE - 2026" at the bottom, and every character rotated a full \(180^{\circ}\) with its order reversed, matching exactly what the example did to "Ref Fig / 12 34".
Step 5: Final conclusion. \[ \boxed{\text{Pattern R}} \]
