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How to Do Dilations in Geometry

If you have ever been to the eye doctor and had your eyes dilated, you know that the drops make your pupils bigger. Dilations in geometry work the same way. When you dilate a figure plotted on the coordinate plane, you make it bigger or smaller without change its proportions. The scale factor functions the way the scale on a map does. It tells you how much to expand or contract each side of the shape.

Instructions

    • 1

      Look at the figure drawn on the coordinate plane and write down the X and Y coordinates for each vertex, or corner, of the shape. For instance, the corners of a triangle might be (1,-3), (2,5), and (-9,4).

    • 2

      Multiply the X-coordinate of each point by the scale factor. Then, do the same with each Y-coordinate. For instance, if the scale factor was 4, you would multiply -1 and -3 both by 4 to get a new point of (-4, -12). Your three original points would become (-4, -12), (8, 20), and (-36, 16).

    • 3

      Plot the new points as vertices on the coordinate plane. Then, use a ruler or straight edge to connect the dots and create the new figure.

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