Transformations Maths

Transformations change a shape. This could be 2D or 3D. There are 4 main types of transformations:

• Reflection
• Rotation
• Enlargement
• Translation

Reflection

Reflection is when a shape is flipped across a line. For example, the line x = 1 would be vertical and intersecting with 1 or the x axis. There are 2 main diagonal lines, x = y and x = -y they both go through (0, 0) but in opposite directions.

Rotation

Rotation is when a shape is moved at an angle around a point. For example, shape A is moved 90 degrees around the point (2, 0). An easy way to do this is to use tracing paper.

Enlargement

Enlargement is when a shape is increased in size. This is measured from a point using a unit and then is doubled. For negative scale factors, you measure backwards.

Translation

Translation is arguably the simplest one, but shouldn’t be overlooked. Translation is moving a shape using a vector. For example, a shape could be moved by -1x and 2y. This means the shape is moved backwards horizontally by one and then it is moved up two.