Practice Identifying Basic Transformations worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s go through each problem one by one and match the transformation shown in the graph to the correct letter from the choices.

We’ll look at:
- Did the shape flip? → That’s a reflection (A or B)
- Did it spin? → That’s a rotation (F, G, H, I, J)
- Did it move without turning or flipping? → That’s a translation (C, D, E)
- Did it get bigger or smaller? → That’s a dilation (K or L)

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Problem 1:
Triangle ABC is above x-axis, A’B’C’ is below — same size, flipped over x-axis.
→ Reflection across x-axis → A

Problem 2:
Rectangle moves right and up — no turn, no flip.
→ Translation right and up → C

Problem 3:
L-shape on left becomes mirrored on right — looks like flipped over y-axis.
→ Reflection across y-axis → B

Problem 4:
Trapezoid flips vertically — top becomes bottom. Flipped over x-axis.
→ Reflection across x-axis → A

Problem 5:
Trapezoid rotates — point D goes from top-right to bottom-left. Looks like 90° clockwise rotation around origin.
Check: If you rotate 90° clockwise, (x,y) → (y,-x). Point D was (-2,3), after rotation should be (3,2)? Wait — let’s visualize better.

Actually, looking at positions: original has flat base on top, new one has flat base on right side — that’s 90° clockwise.
→ Rotation 90° Clockwise → F

Wait — actually, let me double-check with coordinates if possible. But since we don’t have exact numbers, use visual logic.

Original trapezoid: wide part on top, narrow on bottom. After transformation: wide part on right, narrow on left → that’s 90° clockwise rotation.
Yes → F

Problem 6:
L-shape moves down and left — no turn, no flip.
→ Translation left and down → D

Problem 7:
Triangle points up → now points down, but also moved slightly? Actually, it looks like it rotated 180° — because vertex A went from top to bottom, and position is opposite relative to center.
Rotation 180° means every point (x,y) → (-x,-y). Visually, it’s upside down and on other side of origin.
→ Rotation 180° → J

Problem 8:
Rectangle moves left — stays same orientation.
→ Translation left → but choice says “Translation right” (E) or “left and down” (D). This is only left, not down. Hmm.

Wait — original rectangle is in quadrant II, new one is in quadrant III — so it moved left AND down? Let’s see:

Original: corners near (-1,1) to (2,1) etc. New: corners near (-3,-1) to (0,-1). So yes — moved left and down.
→ Translation left and down → D

But wait — maybe just left? The y-coordinates changed too. From y=1 to y=-1 → definitely down. And x decreased → left. So D

Problem 9:
Two rectangles overlapping — one shifted right and up relative to other? Original is larger, covers more area. Transformed is smaller and inside? No — actually, they are same size? Wait — no, the transformed one is half the size? Let’s check.

Original rectangle spans from x=0 to x=4, y=0 to y=2. Transformed: from x=1 to x=3, y=0 to y=1 — so width halved, height halved → scale factor 0.5 < 1 → dilation.
→ Dilation using scale factor less than 1 → L

Problem 10:
Triangle rotates — point A goes from top to right side. That’s 90° clockwise? Or counter-clockwise?

If triangle points up, after 90° clockwise, it points right. Yes — matches.
→ Rotation 90° Clockwise → F

Wait — but there’s also an option for 90° counter-clockwise (G). Which is it?

From pointing up to pointing right = clockwise 90°. Counter-clockwise would make it point left.
So → F

Problem 11:
Trapezoid gets bigger — original small, new one large, same shape, centered same place → dilation with scale factor >1.
→ Dilation using scale factor greater than 1 → K

Problem 12:
L-shape rotates — original upright, new one is sideways — specifically, rotated 90° clockwise? Let’s see: corner F was top, now it’s on right → yes, 90° clockwise.
→ Rotation 90° Clockwise → F

Wait — again? Let me confirm. Original: vertical leg on left, horizontal on bottom. New: horizontal on top, vertical on right → that’s 90° clockwise.
Yes → F

Problem 13:
Same as Problem 3? L-shape reflected over y-axis — left becomes right.
→ Reflection across y-axis → B

Problem 14:
Trapezoid flips vertically — top becomes bottom. Like Problem 4.
→ Reflection across x-axis → A

Problem 15:
Rectangles — one on left, one on right — same size, same orientation. Moved horizontally to the right.
→ Translation right → E

Problem 16:
Two triangles — same size, same orientation, side by side. Moved right.
→ Translation right → E

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Now let’s compile all answers:

1. A
2. C
3. B
4. A
5. F
6. D
7. J
8. D
9. L
10. F
11. K
12. F
13. B
14. A
15. E
16. E

Double-checking tricky ones:

- #5: Trapezoid rotating — yes, 90° CW makes sense visually.
- #8: Rectangle moved left and down — confirmed by coordinate shift.
- #9: Clearly scaled down — dilated with k<1.
- #10, #12: Both rotations to right-facing — 90° CW.
- #15, #16: Pure horizontal right movement — translation right.

All seem consistent.

Final Answer:
1-A, 2-C, 3-B, 4-A, 5-F, 6-D, 7-J, 8-D, 9-L, 10-F, 11-K, 12-F, 13-B, 14-A, 15-E, 16-E