Shape and Space
Rotations
Rotation
Which of the following are examples of rotation in real life?
Opening a door?
Walking up stairs?
Riding on a Ferris wheel?
Bending your arm?
Opening your mouth?
Opening a drawer?
Can you suggest any other examples?
Describing a rotation
A rotation occurs when an object is turned around a fixed
point.
To describe a rotation we need to know three things:
The angle of rotation.
For example,
½ turn = 180° ¼ turn = 90° ¾ turn = 270°
The direction of rotation.
For example, clockwise or anticlockwise.
The centre of rotation.
This is the fixed point about which an object moves.
Rotating shapes
If we rotate triangle ABC 90° clockwise about point O the
following image is produced:
B
object 90°
A A’ image
B’
C C’
O
A is mapped onto A’, B is mapped onto B’ and C is mapped
onto C’.
The image triangle A’B’C’ is congruent to triangle ABC.
Rotating shapes
The centre of rotation can also be inside the shape.
For example,
90°
Rotating this shape 90° anticlockwise about point O
produces the following image.
Determining the direction of a rotation
Sometimes the direction of the rotation is not given.
If this is the case then we use the following rules:
A positive rotation is an anticlockwise rotation.
A negative rotation is an clockwise rotation.
For example,
A rotation of 60° = an anticlockwise rotation of 60°
A rotation of –90° = an clockwise rotation of 90°
Explain why a rotation of 120° is
equivalent to a rotation of –240°.
Inverse rotations
The inverse of a rotation maps the image that has been
rotated back onto the original object.
For example, the following shape is rotated 90° clockwise
about point O. 90°
O
What is the inverse of this rotation?
Either, a 90° rotation anticlockwise,
or a 270° rotation clockwise.
Inverse rotations
The inverse of any rotation is either
A rotation of the same size, about the same point, but
in the opposite direction, or
A rotation in the same direction, about the same point,
but such that the two rotations have a sum of 360°.
What is the inverse of a –70° rotation?
Either, a 70° rotation,
or a –290° rotation.
Rotations on a coordinate grid
7 A(2, 6) The vertices of a
6 triangle lie on the
5
4
B(7, 3) points A(2, 6), B(7, 3)
3 and C(4, –1).
C’(–4, 1) 2
1 Rotate the triangle 180°
–7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
clockwise about the
–1 origin and label each
–2 C(4, –1)
–3
point on the image.
–4
B’(–7, –3) –5
What do you notice
–6 about each point and
A’(–2, –6) –7 its image?
Rotations on a coordinate grid
A(–6, 7)
7 The vertices of a
B(2, 4)
6 triangle lie on the
5
C(–4, 4) 4
points A(–6, 7), B(2, 4)
3 and C(–4, 4).
B’(–4, 2) 2
1 Rotate the triangle 90°
–7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 anticlockwise about the
–1 origin and label each
–2
–3
point in the image.
–4
What do you notice
C’(–4, –4) –5
–6 about each point and
A’(–7, –6) –7 its image?
