What is Reflection?
Reflection questions show you a shape and a mirror line. You need to work out what the shape looks like when reflected (flipped) across that line. The reflected shape is the mirror image.
Think of placing a mirror along the line – the reflection is what you would see in the mirror. Left becomes right (for a vertical mirror line) or top becomes bottom (for a horizontal mirror line).
Step-by-Step Method
Identify the mirror line
Is it vertical (up-down), horizontal (left-right), or diagonal? This determines the direction of the flip.
Check each feature
Look at the key points of the shape. For each point, work out where it would appear on the other side of the mirror line, the same distance away.
Flip, do not rotate
Remember that reflection is a flip, not a turn. The shape should look like a mirror image, not a rotated version.
Check the details
Verify that small details (dots, lines, arrows, shadings) have also been reflected correctly.
Worked Examples
A letter P is reflected in a vertical mirror line (placed to the right of the P). What does the reflection look like?
Working
- A vertical mirror line flips left to right.
- The P faces right. Its reflection faces left.
- The reflected P looks like a backwards P (or the letter q in lowercase).
A right-angled triangle has its right angle in the bottom-left corner, with the longest side going from top-left to bottom-right. It is reflected in a vertical mirror line. What does the reflection look like?
Working
- Vertical reflection flips left and right.
- The right angle moves from bottom-left to bottom-right.
- The longest side now goes from top-right to bottom-left.
- The triangle is flipped horizontally.
Common Mistakes
Rotating the shape instead of reflecting it. Rotation turns the shape; reflection flips it.
Use the mirror line as a guide. Each point of the shape should be the same distance from the mirror line on the opposite side.
Forgetting to reflect small details like arrows, dots, or internal patterns.
Every part of the shape must be reflected. If an arrow points left, its reflection points right.
Top Tips
- Use a real mirror or a piece of tracing paper to check reflections when practising.
- For a vertical mirror line: left and right swap, but up and down stay the same.
- For a horizontal mirror line: up and down swap, but left and right stay the same.
- Check that text or numbers in the shape are reversed in the reflection.
- The reflected shape is always the same size as the original.
Ready to practise?
Put these techniques into action with our free practice papers.
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