Success Homeschool

Year 6 Mathematics · Transformations and symmetry

Name: ______________________

Date: ____________

1. What do we call sliding a shape to a new position without turning or flipping it?
- ☐ (a) Translation
- ☐ (b) Reflection
- ☐ (c) Rotation
- ☐ (d) Symmetry
2. How many lines of symmetry does a square have?
- ☐ (a) 1
- ☐ (b) 2
- ☐ (c) 4
- ☐ (d) 8
3. Which capital letter has rotational symmetry but no line of symmetry?
- ☐ (a) A
- ☐ (b) S
- ☐ (c) E
- ☐ (d) T
4. An arrow points up. It is rotated a quarter turn clockwise. Which way does it point now?
- ☐ (a) Down
- ☐ (b) Left
- ☐ (c) Right
- ☐ (d) Up
5. How many lines of symmetry does a rectangle that is not a square have?
6. An arrow points right. It is rotated a half turn. Which way does it point now?
7. What is the order of rotational symmetry of an equilateral triangle?
8. A shape is flipped over a line to make its mirror image. What is this transformation called?

Answer sheet

1. Translation — A translation is a slide. The shape keeps facing the same way.
2. 4 — A square has 2 lines through the middles of opposite sides and 2 lines through opposite corners: 4 in total.
3. S — S looks the same after a half turn but cannot be folded into matching halves. A and T have a vertical line of symmetry, and E has a horizontal one.
4. Right — Clockwise turns the same way as the hands of a clock. A quarter turn clockwise from up is right.
5. 2 — One line goes across the middle and one goes down the middle. The diagonals are not lines of symmetry.
6. Left — A half turn makes an arrow point the opposite way, so right becomes left. The direction of a half turn does not matter.
7. 3 — An equilateral triangle looks exactly the same 3 times during one full turn.
8. Reflection — Flipping a shape over a mirror line is called a reflection.