The frameworks of Baikov–Gazizov–Ibragimov (BGI) and Fushchich–Shtelen (FS) approximate symmetries are used to study symmetry properties of partial differential equations with a small parameter. In general, it is shown that unlike the case of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), unstable BGI point symmetries of unperturbed partial differential equations (PDEs) do not necessarily yield local approximate symmetries for the perturbed model. While some relations between the BGI and FS approaches can be established, the two methods yield different approximate symmetry classifications. Detailed classifications are presented for two nonlinear PDE families. The second family includes a one-dimensional wave equation describing the wave motion in a hyperelastic material with a single family of fibers. For this model, approximate symmetries can be used to compute approximate closed-form solutions. Wave breaking times are found numerically and using the approximate solutions, which yield comparable results.
