2007-02-18 02:26:13 · 3 answers · asked by My Name Is lady Marmalade 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Infinity
2007-02-18 11:11:59 · answer #1 · answered by aepacino 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A shape is said to have rotational symmetry if it looks the same in different positions when rotated about its centre.
We can rotate a square by 90, 180 or 270 degrees and it will look exactly the same. So, the order of rotational symmetry of the square is 4.
If a rectangle (which is not a square) is rotated it can be seen that a rectangle has rotational symmetry of order 2.
Any shape, however strange, will have rotational symmetry of at least order 1 since there is one position where it looks the same!
As Tom already said, a circle has rotational symmetry of infinite order. It doesn't matter how much or how many times you rotate a circle about its centre, it will still look exactly the same. You can rotateit by 1 degree, or by 217, or by 12.5, or by 187.284735 degrees... basically for any number of degrees between 0 and 360, and we know there are infinitely many numbers between 0 and 360.
Hope this helps.
2007-02-18 02:49:55 · answer #2 · answered by M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is infinite. You can rotate a circle by as large or as small angle as you like and it will still appear the same.
2007-02-18 02:30:18 · answer #3 · answered by Tom :: Athier than Thou 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋