Which statement best describes the translation of a square by the vector (3, 2)?

• A. It moves 3 units right and 2 units up; orientation unchanged.
• B. It rotates 90 degrees.
• C. It scales in size.
• D. It reflects across the x-axis.

Answer: (A)

Translation slides every point of a figure by the same vector. A vector of (3, 2) means move 3 units to the right and 2 units up. So, when you translate a square by this vector, each vertex shifts by (3, 2), leaving the square’s size and orientation the same. The shape ends up in a new position, but it remains congruent to the original and not rotated or flipped. In other words, the description that matches this transformation is moving right 3 units and up 2 units with the orientation unchanged. For contrast, rotating would change orientation, scaling would change size, and reflecting across the x-axis would flip the square.