Question Video: Finding the Lines of Symmetry of a Two-Dimensional Figure Mathematics

Video Transcript

Does the following figure have a line of symmetry?

We have to decide if the picture of the butterfly has a line of symmetry. Is this pink line a line of symmetry? If we were to fold this shape in half along this line of symmetry, would both sides fit on top of each other exactly? Yes, they would.

Another way we can tell that this is a line of symmetry is to see if both sides or both halves of the butterfly are a mirror image of each other. To do this, we can look carefully at the outline of the butterfly. We can see that the butterfly is exactly the same shape on both sides. Each half of the butterfly is a mirror image of the other. If we were to place a mirror on the line of symmetry, this is what we would see. The shape is reflected. And so are the patterns on the butterfly.

So the answer to the question “Does the following figure have a line of symmetry?” is “yes.”