Transformations
Learn translations, rotations, reflections, and dilations
lessons (2)
Introduction to Transformations
Learn about the four types of geometric transformations and how shapes can move, flip, turn, or resize on a coordinate plane.
Reflections
Learn how to reflect shapes across lines of symmetry and understand mirror images in geometry.
Geometric transformations move, flip, rotate, or resize figures while preserving key properties. The four main transformations - translations (slides), reflections (flips), rotations (turns), and dilations (scaling) - appear everywhere from art and design to computer graphics and physics.
What Students Will Learn
- Perform translations on the coordinate plane
- Reflect figures across lines of symmetry
- Rotate figures around a point
- Apply dilations with various scale factors
- Identify transformation sequences
Frequently Asked Questions
Which transformations preserve size?
Translations, reflections, and rotations are rigid transformations that preserve both size and shape. Dilations change size but preserve shape.
How do I reflect over the y-axis?
Change the sign of the x-coordinate: (x, y) becomes (-x, y). For reflection over the x-axis: (x, y) becomes (x, -y).
What determines a rotation?
A rotation requires a center point and an angle. Positive angles rotate counterclockwise; negative angles rotate clockwise.