can a shape have line symmetry and not rotational?

yes, there are several shapes which don't have rotational symmetry, but have a line of symmetry. e.g- an isosceles trapezium, semi circle etc. hope this helped

From other geometry videos and lessons we have learned about similarity and congruency in polygons, particularly triangles. In these lessons we intuitively learned that the position of the polygons did not matter when it comes to proving similarity and congruency. I.e. if two triangles are rotated 90 degrees from each other but have 2 sides and the corresponding included angles formed by those sides of equal measure, then the 2 triangles are congruent (SAS). Further, regardless of how we re-position those triangles, they remain congruent. Now comes Transformations that teach us that simply re-positioning the same polygon makes it 'different' or 'changed' somehow from the original. Does anyone else find this confusing?

Dilations are the only "change" in any figure. They either increase or reduce the size of the figure. All other transformations only change how the figure is positioned. Sal considers rotations of a figure as a change, and it can be legitimately considered that way, but for you, think of it as, say, congruent triangles positioned differently (they are still congruent!)

Hasn't Sal been saying rotating by a positive number is counter-clockwise? but he is rotating clockwise in this video. I don't understand.

You are correct in that Sal is rotating in the negative angle direction. One note is that rotating 180 degrees ends up the same no matter which way you rotate. I guess he is doing absolute value for the purpose of the video.

Hey sal, you say that the parallelogram is the same shape but even if it is its flipped upside down. Does that count at the same? or does it make it different.

If you were taking the markings on the parallelogram in consideration, they would be flipped, so it would not be the same. Otherwise, the shape itself would look exactly the same.

Hasn't Sal been saying rotating by a positive number is counter-clockwise? but he is rotating clockwise in this video.

rotating 180° or -180° gets to the same point not like 90° and -90° (270°)

Whould a lightning bolt be symmetrical?

BOTH SIDES ARE NOT THE SAME! The lightning bolt is not symmetrical because it does not split in half with two equal sides. One simple way to see if a figure is symmetrical is to draw it on paper and fold it in half.

can a shape have line symmetry and not rotational?

Yes it can. For example, an isosceles triangle has line symmetry but it does not have rotational symmetry. Hope this Helps!

What does rotational mean?

Rotation is when one turns something by a certain angle/ degree.

Main content

Geometry (all content)

Course: Geometry (all content) > Unit 10

Lesson 8: Symmetry

Intro to rotational symmetry

Name: Intro to rotational symmetry
Uploaded: 2013-12-11T22:50:05Z
Description: Sal checks whether various figure are symmetrical under a 180 degrees rotation.

Google Classroom

Sal checks whether various figure are symmetrical under a 180 degrees rotation. Created by Sal Khan.

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Ryan Hunter
Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Ryan Hunter's post “can a shape have line sy...”
can a shape have line symmetry and not rotational?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Ryan Hunter's post “can a shape have line sy...”
(42 votes)
Answer
- shoryajain99
  Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to shoryajain99's post “yes, there are several sh...”
  yes, there are several shapes which don't have rotational symmetry, but have a line of symmetry.
  e.g- an isosceles trapezium, semi circle etc.
  hope this helped
  Comment on shoryajain99's post “yes, there are several sh...”
  (40 votes)
Jack Owen
Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Jack Owen's post “Hey sal, you say that the...”
Hey sal, you say that the parallelogram is the same shape but even if it is its flipped upside down. Does that count at the same? or does it make it different.
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(6 votes)
Answer
- Bob The Zealot
  Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to Bob The Zealot's post “If you were taking the ma...”
  If you were taking the markings on the parallelogram in consideration, they would be flipped, so it would not be the same. Otherwise, the shape itself would look exactly the same.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (4 votes)
Wayne Turner
Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to Wayne Turner's post “From other geometry video...”
From other geometry videos and lessons we have learned about similarity and congruency in polygons, particularly triangles. In these lessons we intuitively learned that the position of the polygons did not matter when it comes to proving similarity and congruency. I.e. if two triangles are rotated 90 degrees from each other but have 2 sides and the corresponding included angles formed by those sides of equal measure, then the 2 triangles are congruent (SAS). Further, regardless of how we re-position those triangles, they remain congruent. Now comes Transformations that teach us that simply re-positioning the same polygon makes it 'different' or 'changed' somehow from the original. Does anyone else find this confusing?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(8 votes)
Answer
- N/A
  Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to N/A's post “Dilations are the only "c...”
  Dilations are the only "change" in any figure. They either increase or reduce the size of the figure. All other transformations only change how the figure is positioned. Sal considers rotations of a figure as a change, and it can be legitimately considered that way, but for you, think of it as, say, congruent triangles positioned differently (they are still congruent!)
  Button navigates to signup page
  (7 votes)
boii._.v1g
Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to boii._.v1g's post “Hasn't Sal been saying ro...”
Hasn't Sal been saying rotating by a positive number is counter-clockwise? but he is rotating clockwise in this video.
I don't understand.
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(7 votes)
Answer
- David Severin
  Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to David Severin's post “You are correct in that S...”
  You are correct in that Sal is rotating in the negative angle direction. One note is that rotating 180 degrees ends up the same no matter which way you rotate. I guess he is doing absolute value for the purpose of the video.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (6 votes)
Javon Sanders
Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to Javon Sanders's post “khan has really helped me...”
khan has really helped me with 8th grade thank mmkers
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(8 votes)
Answer
Kendra
Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to Kendra's post “I know a circle has ∞ lin...”
I know a circle has ∞ lines of symmetry, but does it have 0. 0𝄇 1 (point 0 repeating 1) degrees of rotational symmetry? Or is the previous number equal to zero? Explain please.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinitesimal
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(8 votes)
Answer
Jacob Buttriss
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Jacob Buttriss's post “Hasn't Sal been saying ro...”
Hasn't Sal been saying rotating by a positive number is counter-clockwise? but he is rotating clockwise in this video.
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(5 votes)
Answer
- Art
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Art's post “rotating 180° or -180° ge...”
  rotating 180° or -180° gets to the same point not like 90° and -90° (270°)
  Button navigates to signup page
  (5 votes)
Katherine the great
Posted 2 years ago. Direct link to Katherine the great's post “Whould a lightning bolt b...”
Whould a lightning bolt be symmetrical?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Katherine the great's post “Whould a lightning bolt b...”
(4 votes)
Answer
- Serena Crowley
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to Serena Crowley's post “BOTH SIDES ARE NOT THE SA...”
  BOTH SIDES ARE NOT THE SAME! The lightning bolt is not symmetrical because it does not split in half with two equal sides. One simple way to see if a figure is symmetrical is to draw it on paper and fold it in half.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (3 votes)
Liah Cervantes
Posted 6 months ago. Direct link to Liah Cervantes's post “can a shape have line sym...”
can a shape have line symmetry and not rotational?
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(4 votes)
Answer
- Tyler
  Posted 4 months ago. Direct link to Tyler's post “Yes it can. For example, ...”
  Yes it can. For example, an isosceles triangle has line symmetry but it does not have rotational symmetry.
  Hope this Helps!
  Button navigates to signup page
  (3 votes)
gerone weatherby
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to gerone weatherby's post “What does rotational mean...”
What does rotational mean?
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(4 votes)
Answer
- Annette
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to Annette's post “Rotation is when one turn...”
  Rotation is when one turns something by a certain angle/ degree.
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  (3 votes)

Video transcript

We have two copies of six different figures right over here. And I want to think about which of these figures are going to be unchanged if I were to rotate it 180 degrees? So let's do two examples of that. So I have two copies of this square. If I were to take one of these copies and rotate it 180 degrees. So let me show you what that looks like. And we're going to rotate around its center 180 degrees. So we're going to rotate around the center. So this is it. So we're rotating it. That's rotated 90 degrees. And then we've rotated 180 degrees. And notice the figure looks exactly the same. This one, the square is unchanged by a 180-degree rotation. Now what about this trapezoid right over here? Let's think about what happens when it's rotated by 180 degrees. So that is 90 degrees and 180 degrees. So this has now been changed. Now I have the short side. I have my base is short and my top is long. Before my base was long and my top was short. So when I rotate it 180 degrees I didn't get to the exact same figure. I have essentially an upside down version of it. So what I want you to do for the rest of these, is pause the video and think about which of these will be unchanged and which of them will be changed when you rotate by 180 degrees. So let's look at this star thing. And one way that my brain visualizes it, is imagine the center. That's what we're rotating around. And then if you rotate 180 degrees. Imagine any point. Say this point, relative to the center. If you were to rotate it 90 degrees, you would get over here. And then if rotate it 180 degrees, you go over here. You go the opposite side of the center from where it is. So from that point, to the center, you keep going that same distance. You'll end up right over there. So this one looks like it won't be changed. But let's verify it. So we're going to rotate 90 degrees. And then we have 180 degrees. It is unchanged. Now let's look at this parallelogram right over here. So its center, if we think about its center where my cursor is right now-- Think about this point. The distance between that point and the center, if we were to keep going that same distance again, you would get to that point. Likewise, the distance between this point and the center, if we were to go that same distance again, you would to get to that point. So it seems like that point would end up there. That point would end up there. And vice versa. So I think this one will be unchanged by rotation. So let's verify it. So you go 90 degrees. And then you go 180 degrees. Or I should say, it will be unchanged by rotation of 180 degrees around its center. We got the same figure. Now let's think about this triangle. So if you think about the center of the figure. Let's say the center of the figure is right around here. If you take this point, go to the center of the figure, and then go that distance again, you end up in a place where there's no point right now. So that point is going to end up there. This point is going to end up there. This point is going to end up here. So you're not going to have the same figure anymore. And so we can rotate it to verify. So that's rotated 90 degrees. And then that's rotated 180 degrees. So we've kind of turned this thing on its side. It is not the same thing. Now let's think about this figure right over here. Well this figure, if you rotate it 180 degrees, this point is now going to be down here. And this point is going to be up here. So you're going to make, essentially it's going to be an upside down version of the same kite. And we can view that. We can visualize that now. So it's going to be different. But let's just show it. This is 90 degrees. And now this is 180 degrees. If it was actually symmetric about the horizontal axis, then we would have a different scenario. We would have a different scenario with this thing right over here. If it was some type of a parallelogram, or a rhombus, or something like that, then this could have been more interesting. But in this situation, if it was just a more symmetrical diamond shape, then this rotation would not have affected it. But this one clearly did.