S Y M M E T R Y

Y S V M O Y
R T M E K L
 DEFINITION: SYMMETRY
• comes from a Greek word “symmetria”
meaning 'to measure together' and is widely
used in the study of geometry. Symmetry
occurs not only in geometry, but also in other
branches of mathematics.
• a type of invariance: the property that
something does not change under a set of
transformations
• There can also be symmetry in one
object, such as a face. If you draw a line
of symmetry down the center of your
face, you can see that the left side is a
mirror image of the right side.

• However, not all objects have

symmetry; if an object is not
symmetrical, it is called asymmetric.
SYMMETRICAL FACE ASYMMETRICAL FACE
 TYPES OF SYMMETRY:
REFLECTION/LINE SYMMETRY

ROTATIONAL SYMMETRY

POINT SYMMETRY
 REFLECTION/LINE SYMMETRY

REFLECTIONAL SYMMETRY OCCuRS whEN A LINE IS

uSED TO SPLIT AN ObjECT OR ShAPE IN hALVES SO ThAT
EACh hALF REFLECTS ThE OThER hALF. SOMETIMES
ObjECTS OR ShAPES hAVE MORE ThAN ONE LINE OF
SYMMETRY.
EXAMPLES OF REFLECTIONAL SYMMETRY:
 ROTATIONAL SYMMETRY

• ALSO KNOwN AS RADIAL SYMMETRY IN bIOLOgY, IS ThE PROPERTY

A ShAPE hAS whEN IT LOOKS ThE SAME AFTER SOME ROTATION bY
A PARTIAL TuRN. AN ObjECT'S DEgREE OF ROTATIONAL SYMMETRY
IS ThE NuMbER OF DISTINCT ORIENTATIONS IN whICh IT LOOKS
EXACTLY ThE SAME FOR EACh ROTATION.
• ThE ANgLE OF ROTATIONAL SYMMETRY IS ThE SMALLEST ANgLE
FOR whICh ThE FIguRE CAN bE ROTATED TO COINCIDE wITh ITSELF.
ThE ORDER OF SYMMETRY IS ThE NuMbER OF TIMES ThE FIguRE
COINCIDES wITh ITSELF AS ITS ROTATES ThROugh 360° .
EXAMPLES OF ROTATIONAL SYMMETRY:
 POINT SYMMETRY

• POINT SYMMETRY IS whEN EVERY PART hAS A MATChINg

PART ThE SAME DISTANCE FROM ThE CENTRAL POINT buT IN
ThE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
• SOMETIMES CALLED ThE ORIgIN SYMMETRY, bECAuSE ThE
"ORIgIN" IS ThE CENTRAL POINT AbOuT whICh ThE ShAPE IS
SYMMETRICAL.
EXAMPLES OF POINT SYMMETRY:
TREES FRuITS
GAME TIME!
Mechanics:

• Each group will have 1 representative.

• The players will be given puzzle
pieces by the facilitators.
• The first player to solve and guess the
correct type of symmetry wins!