Name: Class:

Exploring Dilations in Math

Grade 8

Part 1: Introduction through Discovery

Objective: Discover the concept of dilation through a simple drawing activity.

Instructions:
1. Real-World Observation: Think about and describe objects or scenes where
you’ve seen one thing that looks exactly like another, just larger or smaller. Exam-
ples can include toys versus their real counterparts or scaled models of buildings.

2. Drawing on Graph Paper:

• Draw a basic shape, like a square.

• Next, draw a version of the shape that is twice its original size and another
that is half its size.
• Reflect on what changes and what stays the same.

8
y
6

2
x
−8 −6 −4 −2 2 4 6 8
−2

−4

−6

−8

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Part 2: Video Exploration
Objective: Learn the formal concept and process of dilation in geometry through a
video lesson.

Instructional videos:
1. Video Viewing: Watch the assigned videos on dilations. These are a video that
explains the process of dilation, scale factors, and how dilations are applied in
geometry.

2. Dilations from the origin: https://youtu.be/KwIFMJ-Wbj4

3. Dilations not from the origin: https://youtu.be/3Tm8RGRZjjg

4. Negative scale factor: https://youtu.be/93TpyW6UuRQ

Part 3: Dilations Cheat Sheet

Objective: Provide a quick reference for performing dilations effectively.

Cheat Sheet Content:

• Definition of Dilation: A transformation that produces an image that is the
same shape as the original but is a different size.

• Scale Factor: Determines how much larger or smaller the image will be compared
to the original. A scale factor greater than 1 indicates an enlargement, while a scale
factor less than 1 indicates a reduction. A negative scale factor also involves a flip
of the shape.

• Center of Dilation: The fixed point in the plane about which all points are
expanded or contracted. If not specified, it is often assumed to be the origin (0,0).

• Steps for Performing a Dilation:

1. Identify the center of dilation and the scale factor.

2. Multiply the distance from each point of a shape to the center of rotation by
the scale factor to find the new points of the dilated shape.
3. If the dilation is negative, also flip the shape across the center of dilation.

• Common Mistakes: Forgetting to apply the scale factor to all coordinates, ig-
noring the sign of the scale factor, and misidentifying the center of dilation.

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Part 4: Practice the Three Types of Dilations.
Objective: Apply your understanding of dilations with specific scale factors, using a
ruler and a pencil.

General Instructions:
For each exercise, a triangle is drawn on the grid. You will perform different types of
dilations (enlargement, reduction, and using a negative scale factor) on this triangle. Use
the following steps for each dilation:

• Identify the center of dilation on the grid. This point will be marked for each
exercise.

• Use a ruler to measure the distance from the center of dilation to each vertex of the
triangle.

• Multiply each measured distance by the given scale factor to determine the new
distance from the center to each vertex’s new position.

• Draw the new, dilated triangle using the calculated distances and maintaining the
direction from the center to each vertex.

Exercise 1: Enlargement (Scale Factor: 2)

Center of Dilation: (2,2)
8
y
6

2 (2, 2)
x
−8 −6 −4 −2 2 4 6 8
−2

−4

−6

−8

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Exercise 2: Reduction (Scale Factor: 0.5)
Center of Dilation: (2,2)
8
y
6

2 (2, 2)
x
−8 −6 −4 −2 2 4 6 8
−2

−4

−6

−8

Exercise 3: Negative Scale Factor (Scale Factor: -1)

Center of Dilation: (2,2)
8
y
6

2 (2, 2)
x
−8 −6 −4 −2 2 4 6 8
−2

−4

−6

−8

4
Part 5: Practice with Dilations
Objective: Reinforce your understanding of dilations through a variety of problems,
including word problems and graphical exercises.

Instructions:
Complete the following exercises on dilations. Use the provided graph paper for any
drawing required, and show all your work for calculation-based questions.

Exercise 1: Identifying Scale Factors

A square has vertices at (1, 1), (1, 4), (4, 4), and (4, 1). After a dilation, the square’s
new vertices are at (2, 2), (2, 8), (8, 8), and (8, 2). What was the scale factor for this
dilation?

Exercise 2: Effects of Dilations

If a triangle with an area of 30 square units is dilated by a scale factor of 3, what is the
area of the resulting triangle?

Exercise 3: Real-Life Application

A map is made using a dilation with a scale factor of 1/1000. If the distance between
two cities on the map is 5 cm, what is the actual distance between these two cities in
kilometers?

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Exercise 4: Negative Scale Factor
A shape is dilated using a scale factor of -2 from the origin. Describe how the shape’s
orientation changes as a result of the dilation. Provide an example using a coordinate
grid.
4
y
3

1
x
(0, 0)
−4 −3 −2 −1 1 2 3 4
−1

−2

−3

−4

Exercise 5: Combining Transformations

A rectangle is first translated 2 units left and 1 unit down, and then it is dilated by a scale
factor of 2 from the point (2,1). Sketch the original and final positions of the rectangle.
10
y
8

2
(2, 1)
x
−10 −8 −6 −4 −2 2 4 6 8 10
−2

−4

−6

−8

−10