16Hit1600
Problem-Solving and Data AnalysisHardMap distance from a ratio scale

Problem-Solving and Data Analysis practice question

A map has a scale of 1 : 50,000, meaning 1 centimetre on the map represents 50,000 centimetres on the ground. Two villages are 3 kilometres apart. How many centimetres apart are they on the map?

Answer: 6

3 km = 300,000 cm. Divide by 50,000: 6 cm.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 60
60 uses 3,000,000, converting kilometres to centimetres with one zero too many.
If you answered 0.06
0.06 uses 3,000 (metres) instead of 300,000 (centimetres).
If you answered 16.7
16.7 divides 50,000 by 3,000, inverting the scale.

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