TRANSFORMATIONS

Transformations in mathematics refers to the operations/processes that change the position, size, or shape of a figure in a coordinate plane or space. It also describes how two-dimensional shapes or figures move around plane or coordinate system.

Transformations are foundational in geometry and are often studied in the context of algebra and trigonometry as well. Here are the main types of transformations:

Translation,
Rotation
Reflection
Enlargement

1). Translation

Translation moves a shape left, right, up or down but it does not turn. It moves the shape or figure in a straight line from one location to another without changing its shape, size, or orientation.

2). Rotation

Rotation is very different from translation, because in rotation, the image, shape or figure turns around a fixed point (called the center of rotation), by a certain angle and direction (clockwise or counterclockwise). Although the shape is being turned around, the size of the shape does not change at all.

3). Reflection

In reflection, this is when the reflection creates a mirror image of a figure across a line of reflection. The set of fixed points is called the axis or plane of reflection, depending on the dimension of the space. In geometry, reflection is basically when a shape is mirrored across a line or plane.

4). Enlargement/Dilation

Enlargement or also known as dilation is a type of transformation process whereby the figure or the shape is resized, which can either enlarge the figure or it can reduce the size of the figure depending on the scale factor. When the scale factor is greater than 1, the figure is enlarged while maintaining its shape and proportions.