✦ Fractional Enlargements — The Shrink Ray
Scale Factor between 0 and 1 · Syllabus 5.2 J, L
🎛 The Shrink Ray
📡 Logic Track
📐 The Big Idea
In IGCSE Maths, "Enlargement" doesn't always mean bigger! When the Scale Factor (SF) is a fraction between 0 and 1, the image is SMALLER than the object — but we still call it an enlargement. The shape stays similar (same angles, proportional sides).
Live Stats · SF = 1/2
⚙️ Dynamic Solver — Shrink Calculator
Custom Inputs
Cambridge-Style Working
Given
Centre of Enlargement = (0, 0)
Point A = (6, 4)
Scale Factor = 1/2
Step 1 · Position Vector
Vector from O → A:
Step 2 · Multiply by SF
1/2 ×
Step 3 · Add to Centre
(0 + 3, 0 + 2)
✓ Result: A' = (3, 2)
Area of image = (1/2)² × area of original = ¼ × area
🎯 Mark Scheme Tip — What earns full marks on the Enlargement question:
✓ M1 — Correct scale factor applied to at least one vertex (show the multiplication)
✓ A1 — All vertices of image plotted correctly
✓ A1 — Correct label (e.g., A', B') on image
✗ Common Loss — Plotting image on wrong side of centre, or forgetting the centre entirely
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