A transformation that slides a shape without rotating or flipping it is called what?

A transformation that slides a shape without rotating or flipping it is known as a translation. In geometry, translation involves moving every point of a shape the same distance in the same direction. This means the shape maintains its size, orientation, and appearance; it simply changes its position in the coordinate plane.

For example, if you were to take a triangle and slide it five units to the right, every point on the triangle would move five units to the right, thereby creating a new triangle that is congruent to the original, but located at a different position.

Other transformations like reflection (which flips a shape across a line), rotation (which turns a shape around a point), and scaling (which changes the size of a shape) do not fit the definition of a translation because they alter either the orientation or the size of the shape. Thus, the essence of translation lies in its ability to preserve the object's original form while changing its location.