Grade 6 · Math · Unit 11 of 12
Transformations
Slide, flip and turn
What your child practises
Translating, reflecting and rotating points and shapes on a coordinate grid, and combining two transformations in a row.
BC Curriculum learning standard: Combinations of transformations
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practise.
- A translation slides a shape without turning it.
- A reflection flips a shape over a line.
- A rotation turns a shape around a point.
Example: A shape moves 3 squares to the right and does not turn or flip. Which transformation is it? It only slides. A slide is a translation. Answer: A translation
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Point Q is reflected in the horizontal mirror line y = 7 (the dotted line). What is the y-coordinate of Q′?
answer box
Show answer
8
Hint: Count how far Q is below the line. Q′ is the same distance on the other side. The x-coordinate doesn't change.
Question 2
Triangle ABC is translated 3 units right and 1 unit down. What is the x-coordinate of B′?
answer box
Show answer
9
Hint: Read B's x-coordinate. Moving right adds to x; moving left subtracts. Up and down don't change x.
Question 3
A shape makes a quarter turn around a fixed point. What is this transformation called?
- translation
- reflection
- rotation
Show answer
rotation
Hint: A translation is a slide. A reflection is a flip. A rotation is a turn.
Question 4
Reflect point P in the vertical mirror line x = 4 (the dotted line). Where is its image, P′?
- (1, 4)
- (2, 4)
- (4, 4)
- (7, 4)
Show answer
(1, 4)
Hint: Count how far P is from the mirror line. The image is the same distance on the other side. In a vertical mirror line, the y-coordinate stays the same.
Question 5
Point P(2, 1) is translated 1 unit right and 1 unit up, then reflected in the mirror line x = 5. Where does it end up?
- (7, 2)
- (9, 2)
- (3, 2)
- (7, 1)
Show answer
(7, 2)
Hint: Do one step at a time. After the translation P is at (3, 2). Then reflect: the y-coordinate stays the same, and the new x is the same distance on the other side of x = 5.
Question 6
What are the coordinates of point A?
- (1, 6)
- (2, 6)
- (6, 2)
- (2, 7)
Show answer
(2, 6)
Hint: Start at (0, 0). Go across to find x first, then up to find y. Write them as (x, y).