Reflectional Symmetry Worksheet

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Objective: Learn more about reflections.

Figures with reflectional symmetry have a mirror line.

Remember from your reading that a mirror line divides your figure exactly in half and one side of the figure will be the exact mirror image of the other half.

Here are some examples:

In these three examples the mirrolines are all vertical. That's a coincidence. Figures can have mirror lines in all direction.

1. Find the mirror lines for the following figures:

It is also possible that figures have more than one mirror line. Remember from your reading:

2. Find all the mirror lines of the following shapes:

3. Can you find a mirror line for this sketch by Escher? This is a drawing of La Mezquita in Cordoba, Spain.



4. Escher's print called Paradise is interesting. It shows Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

It almost has a mirror line!

a. Notice that for instance the owl at the center has a mirror line.

What other parts of the drawing have a real mirror line? How many were you able to find?

b. Notice that the figures of the tiger on the left is almost a mirror image of the lion on the right.

It doesn't quite work because they are different animals, but they are opposite one another and mirror each others behavior.

How many other pairs can you find that are almost mirror images? Describe them.