Practice Informal Transformational Proof in Math

Use these practice problems to test your method after reviewing the concept explanation and worked examples.

Quick Recap

An informal transformational proof uses translations, rotations, reflections, and dilations to explain why two figures are congruent or similar.

Instead of measuring sides and angles, show that one shape can be moved, flipped, or resized to land exactly on another.

Showing a random 20 of 50 problems.

Example 1

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What does it mean if NO sequence of rigid motions maps figure A onto figure B?

Example 2

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Prove informally that the base angles of an isosceles triangle are congruent using a reflection.

Example 3

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Prove informally that opposite sides of a parallelogram are congruent using a 180ยฐ rotation about its center.

Example 4

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Why is a transformational proof considered valid (not just visual)?

Example 5

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An equilateral triangle has rotational symmetry of what order about its centroid?

Example 6

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Triangle A has vertices (0,0),(2,0),(0,1)(0,0),(2,0),(0,1); triangle B has (0,0),(0,2),(โˆ’1,0)(0,0),(0,2),(-1,0). Describe a single transformation mapping A to B.

Example 7

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If you dilate a triangle by a factor of 12\frac12 about a vertex, what is the ratio of perimeters of new to original?

Example 8

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Two triangles are mirror images of each other and have the same side lengths. What transformation maps one to the other?

Example 9

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Prove informally that the diagonals of a rectangle are congruent using a reflection.

Example 10

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Which property is NOT preserved by a reflection?

Example 11

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Two squares have side lengths 2 and 5. Are they similar? Justify by giving a dilation.

Example 12

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Two parallel lines are cut by a transversal. Use a translation along the transversal to argue corresponding angles are congruent.

Example 13

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Prove informally that a line through the midpoints of two sides of a triangle is parallel to the third side, using a dilation.

Example 14

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Triangle A is at (1,1),(3,1),(1,4)(1,1),(3,1),(1,4); triangle B is at (1,โˆ’1),(3,โˆ’1),(1,โˆ’4)(1,-1),(3,-1),(1,-4). What transformation maps A to B?

Example 15

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Which transformation preserves both size AND orientation: rotation, reflection, or dilation by 1?

Example 16

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Which sequence guarantees similarity but NOT congruence?

Example 17

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Which is NOT preserved under dilation by scale factor kโ‰ 1k \neq 1?

Example 18

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Prove informally that vertical angles are congruent using a 180ยฐ rotation.

Example 19

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Two figures have the same shape but opposite orientation (mirror images) and the same size. What maps one to the other?

Example 20

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A square is mapped onto itself by a 90ยฐ rotation about its center. What does this prove about the square?