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Common Rotations

(KS2, Year 6)

A rotation can be by any angle about any center of rotation. However, it can be time consuming to rotate a shape and even more difficult to describe a rotation. Rotations of 90°, 180°, 270° and 360° about the origin, however, are relatively simple.

A Rotation of 90° About the Origin

The shape below has been rotated 90° (one quarter turn) clockwise about the origin: describe_rotation_90_degrees

A Rotation of 180° About the Origin

The shape below has been rotated 180° (one half turn) clockwise about the origin: describe_rotation_180_degrees

A Rotation of 270° About the Origin

The shape below has been rotated 270° (three quarter turns) clockwise about the origin: describe_rotation_270_degrees

A Rotation of 360° About the Origin

The shape below has been rotated 360° (one whole turn) clockwise about the origin: describe_rotation_360_degrees

Top Tip

How to Think of Rotations About the Origin

Imagine a shape is drawn on a pair of axes on a sheet of paper... rotation_shape_and_axes_on_paper

Imagine sticking a pin through the origin and into a surface... rotation shape and axes on paper with pin

If you span the paper around, the pin would stay in place and every other point on the paper would turn in a circle around it. By turning the paper in a series of one... two... three... four quarter turns, the rotations described on this page can be found. rotation shape and axes on paper with pin spin

rotation shape and axes on paper with pin spin

Note

Clockwise and Counter-Clockwise

The direction of rotation is needed to describe a rotation.

If the rotation is in the same direction as the hands of a clock, the direction is clockwise.
If the rotation is in the opposite direction as the hands of a clock, the direction is counter-clockwise or anti-clockwise.

A Rotation Can Be Described as Both Clockwise and Counter-Clockwise

Any rotation can be described as both clockwise and clockwise. The rotation below can be described as both 90° clockwise and 270° counter-clockwise:

rotation clockwise and counter-clockwise