Transformation asks what changes when an object is moved, stretched, turned or re-expressed, and what survives the change.
When there is too much movement, look for something that refuses to change.
Transformation
What changes, and what stays the same, when something is moved or reshaped?
Draw a triangle. Slide it two squares right and one square up.
Which measurements changed? Which relationships stayed exactly the same?
Try noticing
Notice 1
What changed position, size, direction or form?
Notice 2
What stayed invariant?
Notice 3
Can the transformation be undone?
Notice 4
Can two different transformations end in the same place?
Knowledge you may need
Tools and visualisations
TransformationRepresentationRepetition
Complex Number and Argand Diagram Explorer
Explore modulus, argument, multiplication and roots of unity.
ToolTransformationRepresentationChange
Function Transformation Playground
Explore vertical and horizontal graph transformations across familiar functions.
ToolRepetitionTransformationPattern
Mandelbrot and Julia Set Explorer
Zoom into fractal boundaries created by repeated complex iteration.
ExplorationTransformationRepresentation
Matrix Transformation Visualiser
See how 2 by 2 matrices move vectors, shapes, area and orientation.
ToolWhere this appears in school maths
Geometry and graphs
Reflections, rotations, translations, enlargements and graph transformations all ask what changes and what stays fixed.
Algebraic thinking
Changing the form of an expression can reveal a structure that was hidden.