Answer the following questions to summarize the rotations that carry a regular penagon onto itself. (2 points) A regular pentagon can make turns onto itself before coming around full circle. Each turn would be a multiple of degrees. Question 2 a. What are the degrees of the turns that will allow it to turn on itself?

1 answer

To determine the degrees of the turns that will allow a regular pentagon to rotate onto itself, we need to consider the symmetry of the pentagon.

A regular pentagon has 5 sides, and the angles of rotation that map the pentagon onto itself are multiples of the angle formed by the vertices when divided evenly around a circle. The full circle is \(360^\circ\).

To find the angles, we can divide \(360^\circ\) by the number of sides of the pentagon (which is 5):

\[ \text{Angle of rotation} = \frac{360^\circ}{5} = 72^\circ \]

The possible rotations that map the pentagon onto itself are:

  1. \(0^\circ\) (no rotation)
  2. \(72^\circ\) (one vertex moves to the position of the next vertex)
  3. \(144^\circ\) (two vertices move to the next vertex's position)
  4. \(216^\circ\) (three vertices move to the next vertex's position)
  5. \(288^\circ\) (four vertices move to the next vertex's position)

Thus, the degrees of the turns that will allow the regular pentagon to turn onto itself are:

  • \(0^\circ\)
  • \(72^\circ\)
  • \(144^\circ\)
  • \(216^\circ\)
  • \(288^\circ\)