Tessellation Symmetry:
Reflection (Flip)

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7  

Notice that the whales repeat, but they aren't all facing the same way. Some--the ones in the same row-- are copied and then moved by the way we've already studied, "translation (slide)". However, look in the row below and you'll see that the whales face the OTHER way. They're mirror-images of the whlaes in the rows above and below them. We call this Reflection (Flip). The shape of the whale repeats by reflecting...flipping...like a picture held up to a mirror. The whales do a left-to-right flip.

Now look at the dreidels (the spinning tops). They're a flip/reflection tessellation too, but not left-to-right flipping. They flip top-for-bottom.

Hit the "next page" button below to see yet another way to tessellate.




Reflect / Mirror / Flip

whale tessellation showing a flip mirror reflection

dreidel tessellation showing a flip/mirror/reflection symmetry