Final answer:
Rigid motions include translations, rotations, reflections, and glide reflections. They are characterized by preserving distance and angle measures, allowing figures to maintain their shape and size post-transformation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rigid motions are transformations that preserve the distance and angle measures of figures. In mathematics, particularly geometry, the main types of rigid motions are translations, rotations, and reflections. A transformation is known to be a rigid motion if after the transformation, the shape and size of the pre-image and the image are exactly the same, which means that side lengths and angle measures are preserved.
Translations involve sliding a figure in any direction without changing its orientation or size. Rotations turn a figure around a fixed point, called the center of rotation, through a specified angle and direction. Reflections create mirror images of figures across a specified line known as the line of reflection. In addition, there is a fourth type of rigid motion called glide reflections, which is a combination of a translation and a reflection.
In the study of rotational motion, we relate rotational variables to translational variables, leading to a comprehensive understanding of how objects move. For instance, a hockey puck sliding and spinning across the ice exemplifies both translational and rotational motion.