Line or Reflective Symmetry
Symmetry means balance or form.
In maths we often talk about shapes and things being symmetrical.
There are two types of symmetry, line symmetry and rotational symmetry.
We will cover line symmetry (or reflective symmetry today).
Line symmetry
Line symmetry means reflection. If we were to draw a line through a shape to represent a mirror, the shape could be folded along that line and both sides would both fit exactly together.
Here is an example
Here M as got 1 line of symmetry. We could fold it along the line and the shape would be exactly the same both sides.
How many lines of symmetry do you think the letter A has got?
Answer: A has got one line of symmetry
:
Try and find out how many lines of symmetry the following letters and shapes have:
That wasn't too hard was it?
Just to review.
Line or reflective symmetry is where you can draw a line that acts like a mirror across a picture and both sides look exactly the same.
Tomorrow we will look a rotational symmetry.