Abstract
Solving geometry problems is challenging for students of all ages. The complexity of geometry problems is multidimensional, and is linked to visualization, auxiliary constructions required for solution, computational and proof skills and deep and robust knowledge of geometry concepts and their properties (definitions, axioms and theorems). In this paper we hypothesized that the field-(in)dependency and (a)symmetry of the geometric diagrams given in geometry problems affect the complexity of the problems. We designed 168 short verification problems: 21 sets of 4 geometric diagrams with systematic variation of the examined conditions accompanied by a correct and an incorrect property. The hypotheses were examined using the accuracy and response times of 45 undergraduate and graduate Taiwanese students who were asked to solve these problems in a computerized setting. Based on the results of this test we demonstrate that both asymmetry and fielddependency of diagrams increase problems’ complexity, as indicated by a decrease in the accuracy and increase in reaction time of responses.