INTRO TO USING SCALES

• newEditor
• Mathematics
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

INTRO TO USING SCALES

Today we'll learn:

- why we use scales

- where we use them in everyday life

- different ways of writing scales

- how to calculate using scales

Some things are too large to draw or represent on a page, so we need to use scales and scale drawings to make them fit onto the page.​

CAN YOU THINK OF ANY EVERYDAY EXAMPLES OF WHEN SCALES AND SCALE DRAWINGS WOULD BE USED?

There are various ways of writing a scale. Some are shown on a diagram to help us with scale drawings: 

Other scales are written using two units:

Eg      1cm = 10km    This means that 1cm on a page is equal to 10km in real life

Ratios are also used to write scales:

Eg     1 : 50   means that 1cm on the page is equal to 50 cm in real life. The units are always the same in a ratio. Here we're using cms.

                                           

The 50 is called the scale factor and it's what we multiply by to get the real life size. If we're given the real life size and asked for the size on the plan then we divide by the scale factor

Two parks are 120km apart. How far apart will they be on a plan using a scale of 1cm = 12km

A

1.2cm

B

10cm

C

120cm

D

12cm

On a plan, two towns are 3cm apart. How far apart are they in reality with a scale of 1 : 10,000. Change your answer to metres

A

30m

B

3000m

C

300m

D

3m

If the height of the Titanic museum is 50m, how high would a model of it be using a scale 1cm = 10m?

A

5cm

B

50cm

C

10cm

D

100cm

What is the real distance between 2 houses that are 3cm apart on a map using a scale of 1 : 15,000. Change your answer to metres.

A

300m

B

45m

C

30m

D

450m

The height of a skyscraper is 500m. How high would a model of it be using a scale of 1cm = 25m?

A

2cm

B

50cm

C

20cm

D

10cm

How confident do you feel using scales?