Question

The number of lines of symmetry in a rectangular and a square are _ _ _ _ _.
A. equal
B. unequal

Answer 1

Hint:A line of symmetry is an imaginary line across which divides the shape exactly into two equal halves. This means that if we fold the shape along the line of symmetry, the two halves will exactly overlap with each other. Draw the shapes of a rectangular and a square and check the total lines of symmetry for each.

Complete answer:
Let the first understand what a rectangular and a square are. A four sided polygon is called a quadrilateral. A rectangular is a special type of quadrilateral. In a rectangular, both pairs of opposite sides are parallel. When both the pair of opposite sides of a quadrilateral are equal in length, they are parallel to each other. Therefore, a rectangular shape will look like the one shown below.

Let us now discuss a square. A square is also a special type of quadrilateral, where both the pairs of opposite sides of the quadrilateral are parallel with all the four sides equal in length. The figure of a square is given below.

Now, let us understand what is meant by line of symmetry. A line of symmetry is an imaginary line across which divides the shape exactly into two equal halves. This means that if we fold the shape along the line of symmetry, the two halves will exactly overlap with each other.

We can also say that a line of symmetry acts like a mirror, where the image of the shape on one side of the line is formed on the other side of the same line. It is exactly the same that a mirror does.Therefore, there are 3 lines of symmetry for a square and 4 lines of symmetry for a square.

Note:Since both the pairs of opposite sides of a square are parallel, it is also a rectangular. Therefore, a square is a special type of rectangular where all the four sides are equal in length. Note that not all quadrilaterals with all four sides of equal length are squares.This is because all four sides being equal does not imply that the opposite sides are parallel. A quadrilateral with four equal sides with non-parallel opposite sides is called a rhombus.