Fiducia TogetherTransformations
Moving and changing shapes: translation, reflection, rotation and enlargement.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
A translation slides a shape by a vector. A reflection flips it in a mirror line. A rotation turns it about a centre by an angle and direction. An enlargement scales it from a centre by a scale factor.
Where it applies
Both tiers. Negative and fractional scale factors are higher tier.
How it works
Translations, reflections and rotations are congruent — size and shape unchanged. Enlargement changes size, so the image is similar, not congruent.
Each transformation needs specific information to describe it fully.
How to use it in your work
Describe fully or lose the mark. A rotation needs the angle, the direction and the centre. A reflection needs the equation of the mirror line. An enlargement needs the scale factor and the centre.
Use tracing paper for rotations in the exam. It is allowed and it works.
Where to get help
Your teacher and your board's specification. Bitesize for worked examples, and the subject song for the topic list.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The Maths Song The GCSE maths topics, in order.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.