Recover mirror lines from corresponding points
Recover a mirror line from sufficient named object/image pairs and justify its perpendicular-bisector conditions, handling fixed points without inventing a unique line.
Exam scope and assessment notes
These twelve shared lessons apply to Foundation and inherited Higher for F5.2A–M; no extra Higher row is added. Keep named corners, signed turns, equivalent mirror equations, exact fractions, positive factors and the freely chosen-centre and identity exceptions. General-angle coordinates are final3dp approximations of unrounded geometry. Written explanations need human review; coordinate agreement does not certify proof or physical construction. Linear November2026/June2027 entry and regional-centre rules remain separate from modular awards. Book2 Shape and Space7 tags and Hubs66–71 are navigation only: map223–248 differs from proof222/summary247/next248, with chapter/Hub bodies unavailable.
Before you begin
- Find a midpoint and use perpendicular directions.
- Read equivalent equations of a straight line.
- Match labelled object/image points in the supplied order.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What must be true for a moved pair P,P′ under reflection?
What you will learn
- Use moved corresponding pairs to construct a common perpendicular bisector.
- Check every pair using midpoint incidence and perpendicular joining segments.
- Explain why an object alone or one fixed point is insufficient to recover a unique mirror.
Polygon ABC has A(1,1), B(4,1), C(2,3). The corresponding image is A′(1,1), B′(-2,1), C′(0,3). The named image vertices correspond in the displayed order. Construct the mirror line and justify its midpoint and perpendicular conditions; do not infer a line from the object alone.
Describe your operation, construct every named image point, and record your actual directed traces. Only the question supplies the givens. The board does not transform a shape or recover a missing parameter for you.
Both Cartesian directions have equal drawing scale. Blue is supplied geometry, amber is my actual work, purple is dirty retained work, and green is a separately gated reference. Screen size is not physical instrument calibration.
Actual boundaries retain their entered order, closure, concavity and wrong or incomplete points. No reflected corner, rotation endpoint, mirror foot or target polygon is filled automatically. Construction rays continue beyond their anchors; mirror lines continue both ways; joining segments keep their original endpoints.
This finite fixed-case comparison is not proof marking, marks, mastery, physical construction calibration or specialist/formal assessment approval. General-angle points stay unrounded; a separately requested three-decimal written table is an approximation.
Actual operation 1
No actual construction is recorded for this action.
Choose a point slot before adding a keyboard coordinate or picking on the board. Named picks retain exact given or current clean recorded coordinates. Free picks retain their unrounded actual planar coordinates; they do not snap to an expected result.
My written coordinates, quantities and reasoning
Write both coordinates as x,y; exact fractions and finite decimals are supported.
Write both coordinates as x,y; exact fractions and finite decimals are supported.
Write both coordinates as x,y; exact fractions and finite decimals are supported.
Explain your actual correspondence, construction and conditions. A written attempt is not an automatically verified proof.
Explain your actual correspondence, construction and conditions. A written attempt is not an automatically verified proof.
Explain your actual correspondence, construction and conditions. A written attempt is not an automatically verified proof.
This sequence is optional. If you add operations, complete every chosen parameter or remove the sequence. The tool generates no inverse for you.
These original cases support mathematical self-checking. They do not award marks, mastery, proof approval, physical construction competence, specialist signoff or formal assessment readiness. Positive scale factors only; unchanged images do not uniquely recover a centre. Keep general-angle construction coordinates unrounded and separately requested written coordinates at three decimal places.
Choose a pair that actually moves
For a reflection, a point P and its image P′ lie on opposite sides of the mirror at equal perpendicular distances. If P≠P′, their joining segment is perpendicular to the mirror and its midpoint lies on it. Constructing that perpendicular bisector gives a candidate mirror line.
If P=P′, the point lies on the mirror but its zero joining segment supplies no perpendicular direction. Use a moved pair to recover the line, then check the fixed point lies on it. One fixed point by itself permits many possible mirror lines, so do not draw a unique answer from that datum alone.
Check the candidate with the whole figure
A valid mirror must work for all named pairs, not just a convenient first pair. Check each moved pair’s midpoint lies on the same line and its joining direction is perpendicular to that line. Check every unchanged vertex is actually on the line. These conditions connect the point correspondence to one reflection.
Sufficient complete object/image data determine the intended line in these tasks. An object without its image or a specified mirror does not identify a unique reflection: many reflected images are possible. State which supplied correspondence you used instead of treating a symmetry-looking feature of the object as a given mirror.
State the line as an actual geometric object
A complete reflection description names its mirror line, for example x=h, y=k or an equivalent line equation. Multiplying every coefficient in an equation ax+by=c by the same nonzero scalar keeps the same line. In particular y=x and y−x=0 are two equations for one mirror, not two transformations.
Use labelled endpoints and construction marks to explain the midpoint and perpendicular checks. Fixed points remain part of the correspondence, and a concave polygon retains all of its named corners. The argument should justify the recovered mirror; numerical agreement of a single pair does not establish all of the figure’s reflected positions.
Sources for this lesson
- Pearson Mathematics A linear specification · Issue2 · Transformation geometry Foundation printed23/physical29 and Higher inheritance printed38/physical44
- Pearson 2026/2027 International GCSE entry manual · centre regions physical3 and Mathematics A physical25
- Pearson literal second-edition book/Hub map · Book2 Shape and Space7 physical12 · navigation only
Pause and explain
Which equation gives the same mirror as y=x?
Worked example
Polygon ABC has A(1,1), B(4,1), C(2,3). The corresponding image is A′(1,1), B′(-2,1), C′(0,3). The named image vertices correspond in the displayed order. Construct the mirror line and justify its midpoint and perpendicular conditions; do not infer a line from the object alone.
Show the worked solution
- Choose moved pair BB′, whose midpoint is (1,1) and joining displacement is (-6,0). Its perpendicular bisector gives reflection in x=1; do not try to derive a direction from a fixed pair.
- Check every corresponding midpoint lies on that same line, and each nonzero joining segment is perpendicular to it. Any unchanged vertex must lie on the line itself. These checks use the supplied image, not a guessed symmetry line of the object.
- The complete mirror is reflection in x=1. Reflecting every named point in it gives the stated image and reflecting again returns the object. Any nonzero multiple of all line-equation coefficients describes the same mirror.
Answer Reflection in x=1. The moved-pair perpendicular bisectors agree, and all fixed points lie on the line.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Polygon ABCD has A(0,0), B(3,0), C(4,2), D(1,3). The corresponding image is A′(0,4), B′(3,4), C′(4,2), D′(1,1). The named image vertices correspond in the displayed order. Construct the mirror line and justify its midpoint and perpendicular conditions; do not infer a line from the object alone.
Give me a hint
Choose a moved pair and justify its perpendicular bisector, then test every other pair.
Compare my reasoning
- Choose moved pair AA′, whose midpoint is (0,2) and joining displacement is (0,4). Its perpendicular bisector gives reflection in y=2; do not try to derive a direction from a fixed pair.
- Check every corresponding midpoint lies on that same line, and each nonzero joining segment is perpendicular to it. Any unchanged vertex must lie on the line itself. These checks use the supplied image, not a guessed symmetry line of the object.
- The complete mirror is reflection in y=2. Reflecting every named point in it gives the stated image and reflecting again returns the object. Any nonzero multiple of all line-equation coefficients describes the same mirror.
Reflection in y=2. The moved-pair perpendicular bisectors agree, and all fixed points lie on the line.
Look for these in your work
- Use moved corresponding pairs to construct a common perpendicular bisector.
- Check every pair using midpoint incidence and perpendicular joining segments.
- Explain why an object alone or one fixed point is insufficient to recover a unique mirror.
Polygon ABCDEF has A(0,0), B(4,0), C(4,1), D(1,1), E(1,3), F(0,3). The corresponding image is A′(0,0), B′(0,4), C′(1,4), D′(1,1), E′(3,1), F′(3,0). The named image vertices correspond in the displayed order. Construct the mirror line and justify its midpoint and perpendicular conditions; do not infer a line from the object alone.
Give me a hint
Choose a moved pair and justify its perpendicular bisector, then test every other pair.
Compare my reasoning
- Choose moved pair BB′, whose midpoint is (2,2) and joining displacement is (-4,4). Its perpendicular bisector gives reflection in y=x (equivalently y−x=0); do not try to derive a direction from a fixed pair.
- Check every corresponding midpoint lies on that same line, and each nonzero joining segment is perpendicular to it. Any unchanged vertex must lie on the line itself. These checks use the supplied image, not a guessed symmetry line of the object.
- The complete mirror is reflection in y=x (equivalently y−x=0). Reflecting every named point in it gives the stated image and reflecting again returns the object. Any nonzero multiple of all line-equation coefficients describes the same mirror.
Reflection in y=x (equivalently y−x=0). The moved-pair perpendicular bisectors agree, and all fixed points lie on the line.
Look for these in your work
- Use moved corresponding pairs to construct a common perpendicular bisector.
- Check every pair using midpoint incidence and perpendicular joining segments.
- Explain why an object alone or one fixed point is insufficient to recover a unique mirror.
Polygon ABCD has A(-2,1), B(1,1), C(2,4), D(-1,3). The corresponding image is A′(2,5), B′(2,2), C′(-1,1), D′(0,4). The named image vertices correspond in the displayed order. Construct the mirror line and justify its midpoint and perpendicular conditions; do not infer a line from the object alone.
Give me a hint
Choose a moved pair and justify its perpendicular bisector, then test every other pair.
Compare my reasoning
- Choose moved pair AA′, whose midpoint is (0,3) and joining displacement is (4,4). Its perpendicular bisector gives reflection in x+y=3; do not try to derive a direction from a fixed pair.
- Check every corresponding midpoint lies on that same line, and each nonzero joining segment is perpendicular to it. Any unchanged vertex must lie on the line itself. These checks use the supplied image, not a guessed symmetry line of the object.
- The complete mirror is reflection in x+y=3. Reflecting every named point in it gives the stated image and reflecting again returns the object. Any nonzero multiple of all line-equation coefficients describes the same mirror.
Reflection in x+y=3. The moved-pair perpendicular bisectors agree, and all fixed points lie on the line.
Look for these in your work
- Use moved corresponding pairs to construct a common perpendicular bisector.
- Check every pair using midpoint incidence and perpendicular joining segments.
- Explain why an object alone or one fixed point is insufficient to recover a unique mirror.
Common mistakes
- Trying to construct a perpendicular bisector of a zero segment.
- Using only a point’s midpoint condition without perpendicularity.
- Selecting a symmetry-looking line from the object alone.
What can you explain now?
A point and its image coincide at P. Does that alone determine one mirror line?
Compare with the explanation
No. It only tells us that a possible mirror passes through P.
A moved pair supplies a nonzero joining segment whose perpendicular bisector fixes a candidate line; a fixed point does not supply that direction.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Explain the two mirror tests for a moved pair, the test for a fixed point and the information needed to recover one line.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.