Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Mathematics (Specification A) · 4MA1 · Free · no account needed
Transformations — exam questions
9 original Incandio exam-style questions on transformations, 21 marks, about 25 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for Transformations — the module that teaches it. Read the module first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
6 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Mathematics A each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the module still loses the mark.
- Write down (1–2 marks)
- a value that needs no working — read off, recalled or stated
- Work out (1–5 marks)
- a calculated result, with the working that produced it
- Explain why (1–2 marks)
- one short justification — mathematics almost never asks for extended explanation
- Calculate (1–5 marks)
- a numerical answer obtained by calculation
- Find (1–5 marks)
- a value or expression obtained by a method the learner chooses
- Show that (2–5 marks)
- every step of a derivation to a value that is already printed in the question Misread as: stating the printed answer again instead of deriving it
Assessed on Paper 1 and Paper 2.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Mathematics A (4MA1) — statement 5.2. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 9 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the module's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
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(1)Write down
A shape is translated by the column vector (3, -2). Write down the column vector that would move the image back to where it started.
(Total for Question 1 = 1 mark)
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(2)Work out
Triangle T is reflected in the x-axis. Work out the coordinates of the three image vertices.
Triangle T has vertices at (2, 1), (5, 1) and (2, 3).
(Total for Question 2 = 2 marks)
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(2)Write down
A shape with vertices at (1, 4), (3, 4) and (1, 7) has an image with vertices at (1, 0), (3, 0) and (1, -3). Write down the single transformation that maps the shape onto its image.
(Total for Question 3 = 2 marks)
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(1)Explain why
A student writes that a shape has been rotated 90° clockwise. Explain why this description is not yet complete.
(Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(2)Calculate
The point (3, 4) is rotated 90° anticlockwise about the origin. Calculate the coordinates of its image.
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(3)Find
A rotation of 180° maps the point (1, 3) onto (7, 5). Find the centre of that rotation.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Work out
The point (6, 5) is enlarged by a scale factor of -2 with centre (2, 1). Work out the coordinates of the image.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(3)Show that
A shape is reflected in the line x = 1 and the image is then reflected in the line x = 5. Show that the result is a translation of 8 units to the right.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Find
The point (4, 2) is reflected in the y-axis, and the image is then reflected in the x-axis. Find the single transformation that has the same effect on every point, describing it fully.
(Total for Question 9 = 4 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 9 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain transformations to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Felix Klein over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
Completely free. No subscriptions, no paywalls, no account needed to start.
Back to the module
- Transformations — Translation, reflection, rotation and enlargement — performing each, and describing them COMPLETELY, because a partial description scores nothing.
- All of Incandio Mathematics · Incandio Exam Practice