MHB How does rigid transformation and dilation help with learning Geometry?

AI Thread Summary
Rigid transformations and dilations are essential in learning geometry as they simplify complex problems and enhance spatial reasoning. By translating shapes to a more manageable position, such as centering a sphere at the origin, understanding symmetries becomes easier. Dilation can also help in making calculations more convenient, particularly in physics applications. These concepts provide foundational skills that support deeper comprehension of geometric relationships. Mastering these techniques ultimately aids in improving overall geometry proficiency.
cbarker1
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Dear Everybody,

I am in the process of relearning high school geometry through Khan Academy. I am current an graduated undergraduate student in mathematics. I am doing this because geometry is one of my weakest subject in mathematics. Second reason is that I want to reason out a problem geometrically. I also want to relearn my university level geometry textbook. I have a hard time with spatial reasoning in general. I am wondering why does learning the rigid transformations and dilations and symmetries help with learning high school geometry.Thanks,

cbarker1
 
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Say that we have a sphere that isn't centered on the origin. The equation for the sphere isn't too bad but if you want to talk about symmetries it is easier to translate the center of the sphere to the origin. Dilation (at least in Physics) can be used, where possible, to make the numbers a bit more convenient.

-Dan
 
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