TransformationsReflecting a point
Name: Date:
Reflect each point. Write where it lands.
1in the x-axis ()
2in the y-axis ()
3in the y-axis ()
4in the x-axis ()
5in the y-axis ()
6in the x-axis ()
Reflections worksheets
A reflection keeps a point the same distance from the mirror and puts it on the other side. These free printable worksheets flip points in the x-axis and the y-axis, with the starting point drawn on the grid.
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Reflections
The answer key prints on a separate page.
What's on this sheet
The rule sounds backwards until you see why. Reflecting in the x-axis changes the y coordinate, because the x-axis is a horizontal mirror and what changes is how far up or down you are. Told as a rule to memorize it gets misremembered constantly; worked out from the distance to the mirror, it comes back every time.
Why this sheet works
Distance is the thing to count. A point four above the mirror goes four below, so (3, 4) reflected in the x-axis is (3, −4) and the 3 never moves. Counting the squares to the mirror and then the same number past it is slower than the rule and it is what makes the rule make sense.
How this one works
One question from this sheet, worked through a step at a time.
(−4, 2) in the x-axis
(−4, 2)
2 above→2 below
(−4, 2)→(−4, −2)
- Start where the point is: (−4, 2). The move is in the x-axis, and the question is only where those two numbers end up.
- A mirror keeps the distance and swaps the side. This point is 2 above the x-axis, so its image is 2 below it.
- Nothing moved sideways, so the x-coordinate stays at −4. The image is (−4, −2). Notice which number changed: mirroring in the x-axis changes the y.