Rotational Symmetry
Learn how rotational symmetry works, including the centre, angle, and order of rotation. Let's get started! 🚀
Video Lesson
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Flashcards
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🛎️ What is Rotational Symmetry?
- A shape has rotational symmetry if it looks the same after a turn of less than 360°.
- The shape is rotated about its centre of rotation.
🛎️ Order and Angle of Rotation
- The order of symmetry is the number of times a shape matches itself in a full 360° turn.
- The angle of rotation = 360° ÷ order (e.g. a rectangle has order 2, so the angle is 180°).
🛎️ How to Check for Rotational Symmetry?
- Rotate the shape around its centre and see if it matches its starting position.
- If it matches before 360°, the shape has rotational symmetry.
Practice Questions
Test your understanding
True or False: A rectangle has an angle of rotation of 180 degrees and an order of symmetry of 2.
Correct! 🎉 +10 pointsNot quite right
A rectangle has a rotational symmetry of 180°, meaning it looks the same after a half turn, and it has an order of symmetry of 2 (180° and 360° rotations).
What is the order of symmetry for an equilateral triangle?
Correct! 🎉 +10 pointsNot quite right
The order of symmetry for an equilateral triangle is 3, as it can be rotated 120°, 240°, and 360° to match its original shape.
If a figure has an angle of rotation of 120 degrees, what is its order of rotational symmetry?
Correct! 🎉 +20 pointsNot quite right
The order of rotational symmetry is found using , so the figure has an order of rotational symmetry of 3.
A regular octagon has an order of symmetry of 8. What is the angle of rotation?
Correct! 🎉 +20 pointsNot quite right
The angle of rotation is found using , so the angle of rotation is 45 degrees.
Which of the following shapes has rotational symmetry?
Correct! 🎉 +20 pointsNot quite right
The circular recycling symbol has rotational symmetry because it looks the same after a certain amount of rotation.
If you rotate a regular pentagon by 72 degrees, will it look the same?
Correct! 🎉 +30 pointsNot quite right
A regular pentagon has 5 equal sides and angles, giving it rotational symmetry of order 5. Using , it looks the same every 72° turn.
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Interactive Activity
Explore rotational symmetry by spinning shapes
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