Final answer:
When triangle XYZ is reflected over the y-axis, each vertex of the triangle moves to an equidistant point from the y-axis but on the opposite side, creating a mirror image of the original triangle with reversed orientation.
Step-by-step explanation:
When triangle XYZ is reflected over the y-axis, the positions of the vertices change but their distance from the y-axis remains the same. If the original coordinates of a vertex are (x, y) then after reflection over the y-axis, the new coordinates will be (-x, y). Therefore, the vertices of the reflected triangle will not be parallel to each other nor will they lie along the x-axis. Instead, the reflection will produce a mirror image of the original triangle across the y-axis, with each vertex equidistant from the y-axis but on the opposite side.
Importantly, reflection over the y-axis does not preserve the original orientation of the triangle; instead, it reverses it. If the original triangle XYZ was oriented clockwise, its reflected image will be oriented counterclockwise, and vice versa.