How many lines of symmetry does a square have?
Symmetry is the property of a shape or figure that makes it look exactly the same on both sides. A square, for example, is a symmetrical shape because it has four equal sides and all of its corners are 90-degree angles. This is also known as mirror symmetry. You can find more information about symmetry in our article on What is Symmetry?
A line of symmetry is an imaginary axis that divides a 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional shape into two identical halves, where each half is the mirror image of the other. This is the opposite of asymmetry, which occurs when an object does not have any symmetrical parts. A circle, for example, has an infinite number of lines of symmetry because any line that passes through the center of the circle will divide it into two equal halves.
The number of lines of symmetry in a shape is often determined by its type. Squares, for instance, have four lines of symmetry because they are quadrilaterals while triangles, rectangles and rhombuses have only two lines of symmetry because they are parallelograms.
You can test if a shape has a line of symmetry by folding it over itself. If the folded part sits perfectly on top of it then that shape has a line of symmetry. You can also use this technique to see if a figure has rotational symmetry, which is the number of times it can be rotated and still look the same.