Symmetry (Edexcel IGCSE Maths)

What is symmetry?

• Symmetry in mathematics can refer to one of two types
  • Line (or Plane) symmetry which deals with reflections and mirror images of shapes or parts of shapes in both 2D and 3D
  • Rotational symmetry which deals with how often a shape looks identical (congruent) when it has been rotated

What is (the order of) rotational symmetry?

• Rotational symmetry refers to the number of times a shape looks the same as it is rotated 360° about its centre
• This number is called the order of rotational symmetry
• Tracing paper can help work out the order of rotational symmetry
  • Draw an arrow on the tracing paper so you can easily tell when you have turned it through 360°

• Notice that returning to the original shape contributes 1 to the order
  • This means a shape can never have order 0
  • A shape with rotational symmetry order 1 may be described as not having any rotational symmetry

    (The only time it looks the same is when you get back to the start)

What is line symmetry?

• Line symmetry refers to shapes that can have mirror lines added to them
  • Each side of the line of symmetry is a reflection of the other side

• Lines of symmetry can be thought of as a folding line too
  • Folding a shape along a line of symmetry results in the two parts sitting exactly on top of each other

• It can help to look at shapes from different angles – turn the page to do this

• Some questions will provide a shape and a line of symmetry
  • In these cases you need to complete the shape
• Be careful with diagonal lines of symmetry
  • Use tracing paper to trace the shape and the reflection line and then flip on the line to see how the shape will reflect 

• “Two-way” reflections occur if the line of symmetry passes through the shape

How do I solve problems involving symmetry?

• Symmetry can be used to help solve missing length and angle problems