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Non-verbal Reasoning · Transform

Reflect a visual figure

Track all marked parts through one reflection.

Practise it now

Which shape is the target reflected in the mirror line? Tap one and watch the ghost flip across.

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A worked example

One question of the kind this skill is tested with, worked all the way through: the reasoning, and what the wrong answers are there to catch.

Flipping a figure across a mirror line

Watch what happens to the figure when you reflect in the vertical mirror line.

A reflection swaps left for right while every point stays the same distance from the mirror line, which means the flipped figure is the opposite way round rather than turned.

TransformReflect in the vertical mirror line

Shape picture with transform Reflect in the vertical mirror line made from 0 parts. Answer pictures: option 1, rotation 180 degrees, no mirror. option 2, rotation 180 degrees, mirror x. option 3, rotation 0 degrees, mirror x. option 4, rotation 90 degrees, no mirror.

  1. Option A, 180 degree rotationturned 180° clockwise
  2. Option B, 180 degree rotation, mirrored across the x axisflipped, then turned 180° clockwise
  3. Option C, 0 degree rotation, mirrored across the x axisflipped, with no turn
  4. Option D, 90 degree rotationturned 90° clockwise

Answer: flipped, with no turn

How you get there

Reflecting in the vertical mirror line swaps left for right and leaves every point the same distance from the line, so the other flipped options use a different mirror line and the turned options keep the figure the same way round.

Why the other answers tempt

Several options are flipped - only one of them is flipped in the line the question names.

If they are stuck, say this

Find the corner furthest from the vertical mirror line and check it lands the same distance on the other side, because that is the only option the named line can produce.

Now do it live in Through the Mirror

How each of these 4 exercises teaches it

Through the Mirror

Which shape is the target reflected in the mirror line? Tap one and watch the ghost flip across.

A reflection in a vertical mirror swaps left and right and leaves top and bottom exactly as they were. That single rule kills every trap here. A rotation turns the shape round, so its top and bottom swap too. A translation slides the shape without changing which way it faces, so anything sticking out to the right still sticks out to the right. A flip in a horizontal mirror changes top and bottom instead of left and right. The safe method in the exam is to pick one distinctive corner, work out where the mirror sends it, and check the candidates against that single point before comparing the whole shape.

What to say if they get stuck

  1. A reflection swaps left and right but never turns the shape upside down.
  2. Pick one corner of the target, such as the step near the top, and ask which side of the shape it should end up on after the flip.
  3. Three of these are traps: one has been turned right round, one has simply slid sideways without flipping, and one has been flipped top to bottom instead of left to right.

Open Through the Mirror on its own page to share it

Symmetry Painter

Half a rocket is painted. Paint the other half so the mirror line splits it perfectly.

Reflecting across a vertical mirror keeps every row exactly where it is and only flips the columns: a square three steps left of the mirror lands three steps right of it. That is why the rocket keeps its height but swaps its sides. Distance to the mirror never changes - only the direction does.

What to say if they get stuck

  1. A reflection is not a slide. The cell nearest the mirror on the left maps to the cell nearest the mirror on the right.
  2. Work one row at a time. Count how many squares that row sits from the mirror, then count the same number out the other side.
  3. Press and hold the mirror line - it will show you the reflection for a moment.

Open Symmetry Painter on its own page to share it

Hole-Punch Unfolder

Fold the paper, punch a hole, then predict what the sheet looks like opened out.

This engine’s own main skill is Paper Folding. It practises reflect a visual figure alongside it.

A punch goes through every layer under it, so the number of holes doubles with each fold: two layers give two holes, four layers give four. When you open the paper, each hole reflects back across the crease it was folded over - so the finished pattern is symmetrical about every crease line, and you can work it out by mirroring backwards, last fold first.

  1. Step 1. Fold. Fold the sheet twice - drag the track or hit the fold button.
  2. Step 2. Punch. Tap a square on the folded stack to punch a hole straight through it.
  3. Step 3. Predict. Before you open it: tap every square you think will have a hole, then press Check.

What to say if they get stuck

  1. Every fold doubles the holes: one punch through two layers makes two holes.
  2. A hole always reappears as a mirror image across the crease you just opened.
  3. Undo the folds in reverse order in your head. Mirror the holes across the last crease first, then mirror EVERYTHING across the crease before it.

Open Hole-Punch Unfolder on its own page to share it

Rotation Dial

Turn the dial until the blue shape matches the target.

This engine’s own main skill is Rotation & Reflection. It practises reflect a visual figure alongside it.

Rotation turns a shape but never flips it. If no amount of turning makes it match, you are looking at a reflection - a mirror image.

  1. Step 1. Match it. Turn the dial until the blue shape matches the target.
  2. Step 2. The impostor. Same game… or is it? Match the shape - or call out the trick.

What to say if they get stuck

  1. Grab the orange ring and drag it around.
  2. Look at the longest point of the shape - where does it point on the target?
  3. In step 2, try flipping it in your head. Rotating never flips a shape!

Open Rotation Dial on its own page to share it

Where reflect a visual figure sits in the 11+

The 11+ does not test these skills in isolation, and practising one in the wrong order wastes the practice. These are the skills the curriculum map connects this one to.

This is one piece of

Compose two visual transformations

A two-step transformation may include a reflection component.

Commonly mixed up with

Rotate a visual figure

Provider-style distractors often preserve parts while swapping turn and mirror operations.

The same thinking arrives from

Reflect a shape

A geometric reflection can transfer to provider-style marked-figure reasoning.

How reflect a visual figure differs from the skills beside it

The same exercise practises several skills, and telling them apart is often the difficulty rather than the exercise itself. On this page the skill is: track all marked parts through one reflection, and it stops where no rotation or attribute change.

  • Identify line symmetry

    Identify or complete a reflection across one mirror line. Excludes rotational symmetry.

  • Reflect a shape

    Identify the result of one reflection in a stated mirror line. Excludes rotation and translation.

  • Rotate a shape

    Identify the result of one stated rotation. Centre, direction, and turn are fixed.

  • Combine visual layers

    Predict the visible result of superimposing two simple layers. Occlusion rule must be inferable or stated.

  • Track a paper fold

    Predict the position or pattern produced by a stated paper fold or unfold. One or more folds recorded as a difficulty dimension.

Related non-verbal reasoning skills

All non-verbal reasoning 11+ skills

Questions parents ask about reflect a visual figure

Answered from what the skill map records about this skill, not from a template. Every answer here is on the page, and the same questions are the page's FAQ structured data.

Track all marked parts through one reflection. It is one of 22 named non-verbal reasoning skills in the 11+, in the transform strand, and this page carries 4 interactive exercises that practise it.

Is it reflect a visual figure they find hard, or telling it apart from rotate a visual figure?

Those two look like one weakness on a practice paper and need completely different practice. A free diagnostic tells them apart across all four subjects.

Start the free 11+ diagnostic