Question Video: Visually Identifying the Type of Transformation Applied to a Given Figure Mathematics • First Year of Preparatory School

Video Transcript

Elizabeth and her family are camping at the lake. Elizabeth and her sister walk to the jetty on the lake. The last sign reads “JETTY” J-E-T-T-Y, but Elizabeth notices that the first T is upside down. Is the first T a translation, reflection, or rotation of the second T?

A translation is moving without rotating or resizing. We know that the T is at least upside down. And that means it can’t be a translation. In a reflection, every point is the same distance from a central line. If the T was reflected across the central line, it would look like this.

But something else is happening here. The first T is a rotation of the second T. If we spin the second T around the point A, we’ll get the first T. In a rotation, the distance from the centre to any point stays the same. We’re spinning the second T around the point A. Point A would be our centre point. That gives a rotation.