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There are some ways to move a shape to another orientation or position. This process is called
TRANSFORMATION. A geometric transformation in two dimensions preserves distances and angles.
The following are different kinds of transformations: Slide, Flip, and Turn
Let's see what those words mean.
A flip or reflection occurs when a figure moves (or flips) across a straight line in such a way
that the new position is a mirror image of the original. Take a look at the first set of triangles above.
In these figures, the red dots indicate the point of reflection. The broken line shows the "hinge" about
which the shape is reflected.
A slide or translation occurs when a figure moves without changing its appearance. It's as if
you placed an object on an air hockey table up against the side wall of the table and slid it gently
along the side of the table without flipping it over or letting it turn.
A turn or rotation occurs when a figure turns around a point. Imagine putting a paper
fastener through a corner of this triangle and then pushing the fastener through a paper plate so the
triangle is connected to the plate. Now when you turn the triangle, the paper fastener holds the
triangle in same place on the plate, while the shape rotates around that point:
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FIGURE 1
FIGURE 2
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FIGURE 3
FIGURE 4
SIMILAR FIGURES
Similar figures are polygons that have the same shape but different size.
Two polygons are similar if:
Corresponding angles ( having the same position) are congruent and the lengths of
corresponding sides are in proportion, called the similarity ratio or scale factor.
For example
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Look at the following photos and say whether they are similar or not and why.
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A square has a side of 5 cm. Draw another square similar to it with a similarity ratio equals to 0.6 .
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The dimensions of a rectangle are 6 cm and 9 cm. Draw another rectangle similar to the previous one with
a scale factor of .
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The sides of two similar triangles are 6,8, 12 cm and 9,12, 18 cm. What is their scale factor?
Similarities are used to create maps, photocopies, drawings, etc. In them we reduce proportionally
the real dimensions of objects. The ratio of the length of the scale drawing to the corresponding length of
the actual object is called as Scale Factor.
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