Which term describes a transformation that changes the size of a figure and preserves its shape, with the image similar to the original?

• A. Rotation
• B. Translation
• C. Reflection
• D. Enlargement

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is a transformation that changes size while keeping the shape the same. When a figure is enlarged (a dilation), every length is scaled by a constant factor, so the image is similar to the original—the angles stay the same and the shape is preserved, just bigger (or smaller if the scale factor is between 0 and 1). The size changes, which is what sets enlargement apart from the other common transformations: rotation, translation, and reflection all keep the size unchanged; they only rotate, move, or flip the figure. So the term that fits is enlargement.