The Taj Mahal in India was built by Emperor Shah Jahan, as a tomb for his beloved wife, after she died tragically in childbirth. The emperor was heartbroken and ordered that this beautiful white marble building be built in her honour. Great care was taken to make sure that the Taj Mahal was completely symmetrical in all its parts. The waterway leading up to the building even gives it another symmetrical reflection. It took 22 years and 20,000 workers to build the Taj Mahal!
Line Symmetry in Capital Letters A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
1. Look at this upper case alphabet. Which 15 letters have line symmetry? Write the letters in the spaces provided.
2. Can you think of any fully symmetrical word? Write your word below. Check if you are correct by writing the word on a piece of paper and folding it.
Mirror Images
If we want to see if a picture or shape is symmetrical, we already know that we can fold the picture along its line (or lines) of symmetry, to see if one half covers the other exactly. Another way to find out if a shape is symmetrical is to use a mirror.
3. Place a mirror on these images where you think a line of symmetry would be. Tick the box if the image is symmetrical. Cross the box if the image is not symmetrical.