16Hit1600
Problem-Solving and Data AnalysisVery hardReal distance from a map scale

Problem-Solving and Data Analysis practice question

A map has a scale of 1 to 25,000. Two towns are 14 centimetres apart on the map. What is the actual distance between the towns, in kilometres?

Answer: 3.5 or 7/2

14 cm × 25,000 = 350,000 cm = 3,500 m = 3.5 km.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 35
35 converts to metres wrongly.
If you answered 350
350 stops at 350,000 centimetres read as metres.
If you answered 0.35
0.35 divides by 1,000 one time too many.

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