Linear transformations occur everywhere in life, from the circular motion of a merry-go-round, to the linear motion of a boxcar in a freight train; from the reversal of right and left when a Hollywood starlet looks at herself in a mirror to the expansion of Sister Sally’s bubble gum before it pops.
| This merry-go-round is an example of a rotation, one of the four types of linear transformation. |
It is easy these days to find expositions of linear transformations that rely on analytic geometry. Rarely do you find an exposition that relies solely on the fundamental axioms of plane geometry. This WebQuest helps you to understand linear transformations of the plane purely from the viewpoint of the fundamental axioms. For example, this WebQuest does not resort to the "measure" of an angle or a "mapping" between a line and the real numbers.
To complete the activities of this WebQuest, you will need access to the internet and a word processor (although you could substitute hand-written or typed papers for papers prepared with a word processor). To complete the presentation of the web pages that you create, you will need a computer with web access attached to an overhead projector in your classroom.
If you are not taking a geometry class, you can still do this WebQuest. You will not have the benefit of peer review of your papers and you will not have the benefit of teacher assessment. You can nevertheless assess yourself.
OK, let's have some fun!