2007-03-22 17:37:19 · 5 answers · asked by «Juke» 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Geography
A map is drawn to scale when the features on the map are actually a percentage of the size of real things. Such as one mile being one inch, or for maps with a bigger span such as a map of the US a scale of 50 miles being represented by one inch.
2007-03-22 17:42:56 · answer #1 · answered by Calarco3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Billy - You don't have a paper large enough to draw a FULL SCALE picture of your room. But, if you decided to let one-quarter of an inch on the drawing stand for one foot in the room, a 10 foot wall would be drawn only 10-quarters of an inch - that's 2 1/2 inches long.
The same is true for maps. The United States is about 2,500 miles wide (east to west). We could make a SCALE DRAWING by saying that we will draw 1/2 inch for every 100 miles. 2,500 miles is 25 hundred miles. Our picture - our map - would have to be 25 half-inches wide. Well, that's 12 1/2 inches - and too big for our regular paper.
Let's change the scale... say 1/4 inch = 100 miles. Now our 25 hundred miles will be drawn as 25 quarter-inches. That's only 6 1/4 inches - and it fits!
Now, if you draw a map - or your room - and the shape is wrong or your bed is too big, or Florida is as fat as Texas... well, you are not "drawing to scale".
2007-03-22 18:02:24 · answer #2 · answered by Richard S 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When a map is drawn to scale it means that you can calculate the actually distance in miles and be accurate. When a map is not drawn to scale it means it is just a rough sketch, and the actually miles from point a to point b are not known. When they are drawn to scale they have a fraction or ratio that can be used to calculate the distance....such as one inch on the map = 10 miles...
2007-03-22 17:44:11 · answer #3 · answered by Charmin1999 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is a ratio in the size of the drawing to the actual size of whatever the map is of. So you can tell how big or small something is in reality. Obviously can't draw a map to full scale or it be as big as what you were mapping.
2007-03-22 17:41:17 · answer #4 · answered by Kurius_Kitten 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
anything made to scale means that the objects have been all reduced in size by the same factor. so on a map one inch might equal 10 miles. or a toy car might be made to 1/25 scale .
see so one inch on the map is ten miles . if you made the toy car 25x bigger it would be the real size.
2007-03-22 17:41:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋