Identifying Rotational Symmetry and Angles of

Rotation
Step 1: Imagine turning the figure counter-clockwise in place. Does the figure ever look the
same as it did originally before you finish a full rotation? If so, how many times does it look the
same before completing a full turn? It may help to make a model you can physically turn out of
paper and mark the top of the figure with a different color (to track where it is so you know
when a full turn is complete). Count the number of times the figure looks the same as it did
originally, including the time it finishes the turn.

Step 2: If, in step 1, you counted more than 1 time that the figure looked the same, the figure
has rotational symmetry. To find the angle of rotation, divide 360∘360∘ by the number you
found in step 1.

Identifying Rotational Symmetry and Angles of

Rotation: Vocabulary and Equations
Rotational Symmetry: A figure is said to have rotational symmetry if it looks exactly the same
after rotating it some angle less than 360∘360∘ (a full rotation).
Angle of Rotation: The angle of rotation for a figure with rotational symmetry is the smallest
angle the figure can be turned to make it look the same as it originally did. This angle is given
by θ=360∘n�=360∘�, where n� is the order of the rotation.
Order: The order of a rotation is the number of times the figure looks the same as it originally
did during one full turn.

We will use these steps, definitions, and equations to identify rotational symmetry and angles
of rotation in the following two examples.

Identifying Rotational Symmetry and Angles of

Rotation: Example Problem 1
Determine if the figure below has rotational symmetry and if so determine its angle of rotation.
Figure for Example 1

Step 1: Imagine turning the figure counter-clockwise in place. Does the figure ever look the
same as it did originally before you finish a full rotation? If so, how many times does it look the
same before completing a full turn? It may help to make a model you can physically turn out of
paper and mark the top of the figure with a different color (to track where it is so you know
when a full turn is complete). Count the number of times the figure looks the same as it did
originally, including the time it finishes the turn.

The figure does have rotational symmetry. As we rotate it counterclockwise, it looks just the
same.

We marked the top with a red x to show when it has finished rotating:

Original
First time it looks the same

Second time it looks the same

Third time it looks the same

Fourth time it looks the same

Fifth time it looks the same - one full turn

The figure has rotational symmetry of order 5.

Step 2: If, in step 1, you counted more than 1 time that the figure looked the same, the figure
has rotational symmetry. To find the angle of rotation, divide 360∘360∘ by the number you
found in step 1.
The angle of rotation is 360∘5=72∘360∘5=72∘.

Identifying Rotational Symmetry and Angles of

Rotation: Example Problem 2
Determine if the figure below has rotational symmetry and if so determine its angle of rotation.
Figure for Example 2

Step 1: Imagine turning the figure counter-clockwise in place. Does the figure ever look the
same as it did originally before you finish a full rotation? If so, how many times does it look the
same before completing a full turn? It may help to make a model you can physically turn out of
paper and mark the top of the figure with a different color (to track where it is so you know
when a full turn is complete). Count the number of times the figure looks the same as it did
originally, including the time it finishes the turn.

The figure does have rotational symmetry. The figure looks exactly the same 4 times.

Step 2: If, in step 1, you counted more than 1 time that the figure looked the same, the figure
has rotational symmetry. To find the angle of rotation, divide 360∘360∘ by the number you
found in step 1.
The angle of rotation is 360∘4=90∘360∘4=90∘.