All courses › Mathematics 1P › Scale

Scale

A scale of 1 to a number means that 1 cm on the map is that many centimetres in reality. You multiply the distance on the map by the number after the colon. To get kilometres you divide centimetres by 100,000, because 1 km is 100,000 cm. The scale applies to lengths. An area on the map must be multiplied by the square of the scale number. Always read whether the answer is in centimetres, metres or kilometres.

\text{real} = \text{on the map} \cdot m

length

1\,\text{km} = 100\,000\,\text{cm}

the unit

Symbols

m

the scale number

Example

7 cm on a map at 1 : 200,000 is $7 \cdot 200\,000 = 1\,400\,000$ cm = 14 km.

4 cm at 1 : 50,000 is $4 \cdot 50\,000 / 100\,000 = 2$ km.

A length is multiplied by the scale number. An area is multiplied by its square.

Practise geometry and scale for free →

← Area and Pythagoras · Volume and units →

Part of Mathematics 1P: Geometry and scale.