A shape is drawn on a centimetre grid. [Image of a shape resembling a kite or an irregular quadrilateral drawn on a grid] Write down the order of rotational symmetry of the shape.

Answer

The order of rotational symmetry of a shape is the number of times it looks the same when rotated by less than a full 360 degrees around its center point. If a shape only looks the same after a full 360-degree rotation (meaning it doesn't have any rotational symmetry other than the trivial one), its order of rotational symmetry is considered to be 1. The given shape is an irregular quadrilateral, specifically it appears to be a kite with two short equal sides and two long equal sides, or potentially just an irregular quadrilateral. Let's analyze its properties: 1. **Identify the Center:** To check for rotational symmetry, imagine a central point around which you would rotate the shape. For an irregular quadrilateral, there isn't an obvious geometric center that would facilitate easy visual inspection of rotational symmetry like there would be for a regular polygon or a circle. 2. **Rotate the Shape Virtually:** Imagine picking up the shape and rotating it around its perceived center. For the shape to have rotational symmetry of order greater than 1, it must perfectly align with its original position at least once before completing a full 360-degree turn. 3. **Check for Alignment:** * If you rotate the shape 90 degrees, it will not look the same. * If you rotate the shape 180 degrees, it will not look the same (it would need to be a parallelogram or have point symmetry for this to happen). * If you rotate the shape 270 degrees, it will not look the same. * Only when rotated 360 degrees will the shape return to its original position. Since the shape only looks the same after a full 360-degree rotation, it has no rotational symmetry when excluding the trivial 360-degree rotation. Therefore, its order of rotational symmetry is 1. The answer is 1.