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# Rotations

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Practice Rotations
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SLT 12 & 13 Draw a rotation when given a rule with inputs and outputs & write a rule for a rotation.
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Which one of the following figures represents a rotation? Explain.

### Watch This

First watch this video to learn about rotations.

Then watch this video to see some examples.

### Guidance

In geometry, a transformation is an operation that moves, flips, or changes a shape to create a new shape. A rotation is an example of a transformation where a figure is rotated about a specific point (called the center of rotation), a certain number of degrees. The figure below shows that the Preimage A has been rotated $90^\circ$ about point $A$ to form the rotated image. Point $A$ is the center of rotation.

In order to describe a rotation, you need to state how many degrees the preimage rotated, the center of rotation, and the direction of the rotation (clockwise or counterclockwise). The most common center of rotation is the origin. The table below shows what happens to points when they have undergone a rotation about the origin. The angles are given as counterclockwise.

Center of Rotation Angle of Rotation Preimage (Point $P$ ) Rotated Image (Point $P^\prime$ )
(0, 0) $90^\circ$ (or $-270^\circ$ ) $(x, y)$ $(-y, x)$
(0, 0) $180^\circ$ (or $-180^\circ$ ) $(x, y)$ $(-x, -y)$
(0, 0) $270^\circ$ (or $-90^\circ$ ) $(x, y)$ $(y, -x)$

#### Example A

Describe the rotation of the blue triangle in the diagram below.

Solution: Looking at the angle measures, $\angle ABA^\prime=90^\circ$ . Therefore the preimage, Image A, has been rotated $90^\circ$ counterclockwise about the point $B$ .

#### Example B

Describe the rotation of the triangles in the diagram below.

Solution: Looking at the angle measures, $\angle CAB^\prime + \angle B^\prime AC^\prime=180^\circ$ . The triangle $ABC$ has been rotated $180^\circ$ CCW about the center of rotation Point $A$ .

#### Example C

Describe the rotation in the diagram below.

Solution: To describe the rotation in this diagram, look at the points indicated on the S shape.

• Points $BC$ : $B(-3, 4)$ $C(-5, 0)$
• Points $B^\prime C^\prime$ : $B^\prime (4, 3)$ $C^\prime (0, 5)$

These points represent a rotation of $90^\circ$ clockwise about the origin. Each coordinate point $(x, y)$ has become the point $(y, -x)$ .

#### Concept Problem Revisited

Which one of the following figures represents a rotation? Explain.

You know that a rotation is a transformation that turns a figure about a fixed point. This fixed point is the turn center or the center of rotation. In the figures above, Figure 1 and Figure 3 involve turning the heart about a fixed point. Figure 1 rotates the heart about the point $A$ . Figure 3 rotates the heart about the point directly to the right of $A$ . Figure 2 does a translation, not a rotation.

### Vocabulary

Center of rotation
A center of rotation is the fixed point that a figure rotates about when undergoing a rotation.
Rotation
A rotation is a transformation that rotates (turns) an image a certain amount about a certain point.
Image
In a transformation, the final figure is called the image .
Preimage
In a transformation, the original figure is called the preimage.
Transformation
A transformation is an operation that is performed on a shape that moves or changes it in some way. There are four types of transformations: translations, reflections, dilations and rotations.

### Guided Practice

1. Describe the rotation of the pink triangle in the diagram below.

2. Describe the rotation of the blue polygon in the diagram below.

3. Describe the rotation of the green hexagon in the diagram below.

1. Examine the points of the preimage and the rotated image (the blue triangle).

Points on $BCD$ $B(1, -1)$ $C(2, 6)$ $D(5, 1)$
Points on $B^\prime C^\prime D^\prime$ $B^\prime (1, 1)$ $C^\prime (-6, 2)$ $D^\prime (-1, 5)$

These points represent a rotation of $90^\circ$ CW about the origin. Each coordinate point $(x, y)$ has become the point $(-y, x)$ .

2. For this image, look at the rotation. It is not rotated about the origin but rather about the point $A$ . We can measure the angle of rotation:

The blue polygon is being rotated about the point $A \ 145^\circ$ clockwise. You would say that the blue polygon is rotated $145^\circ$ CW to form the orange polygon.

3. For this image, look at the rotation. It is not rotated about the origin but rather about the point $A$ . We can measure the angle of rotation:

The green polygon is being rotated about the point $D \ 90^\circ$ clockwise. You would say that the green hexagon is rotated $90^\circ$ CW to form the orange hexagon.

### Practice

If the following points were rotated about the origin with a $180^\circ$ CCW rotation, what would be the coordinates of the rotated points?

1. (3, 1)
2. (4, -2)
3. (-5, 3)
4. (-6, 4)
5. (-3, -3)

If the following points were rotated about the origin with a $90^\circ$ CW rotation, what would be the coordinates of the rotated points?

1. (-4, 3)
2. (5, -4)
3. (-5, -4)
4. (3, 3)
5. (-8, -9)

Describe the following rotations:

1. Why is it not necessary to specify the direction when rotating $180^\circ$ ?