0580

Transformations

Vectors and Transformations

Doing and describing one

  • A translation slides the shape without turning or resizing it, so the orientation is unchanged
  • The movement is given as a column vector, with the top number the horizontal move and the bottom number the vertical one
  • Positive top means right and negative means left; positive bottom means up and negative means down
  • Move every vertex by the same vector, then join them up
Shape P translated to its image P prime, with a red stepped path drawn from one vertex of P to the matching vertex of P prime, counting the horizontal steps first and then the vertical ones
Source: Translations by Save My Exams
  • To describe one, say translation and give the vector
  • Mark schemes also accept the movement in words, such as "2 right, 7 down"
Shape A translated to shape B, with a red stepped path drawn between one pair of matching vertices and annotated 2 right and 3 down, which is the column vector of the translation
Source: Translations by Save My Exams
Exam tip

Write the vector as a column, top number across and bottom number up, and keep the signs: left and down are negative. Translation appears in 10 of the 43 papers and the vector is the whole answer, so a description in words without it is incomplete.