Example 1: Fred is designing a new swimming pool that will have a length of 34 feet. He plans to make a scale drawing of the pool. In his drawing, ¼ inch represents 1 foot. How long

should the drawing of the pool be, in inches?

actual

model

actual

model

feet 34

in X

foot 1

in 0.25

x

x

feet 5.8

1)34(25.0

The drawing of the pool should be 8.5 inches long.

Example 2:

actual

model

actual

model

feet X

blocks 10

foot 0.5

block 1

ft 5

)10(5.01

x

x

The actual dresser is 5 feet wide.

Example 3: Theresa drives from her house in Olean to Albany to visit a friend. The scale of the map is ½ inch = 25 miles. If Theresa measures a distance of 6.25 inches on the map, what is the actual distance between the cities?

actual

map

actual

map

miles X

inches 6.25

miles 25

inches 0.5

miles 5.3125.0

25.156

5.0

5.0

)25.6(255.0

x

x

x

The actual distance is about 312.5 miles.

Example 4: A wall in a room is 15 feet long. On a scale drawing, it is shown as 6 inches long. What is the scale of the drawing?

The scale of the drawing is 1 inch = 2.5 feet.

actual

model

actual

model

ft X

inch 1

feet 15

inches 6

ft 5.2

)15(16

x

x

Example 5: On a map, the distance between two towns is 4 ¾ inches. The actual distance between the towns is 380 miles. What is the scale of the map?

The scale of the map is 1 inch = 80 miles.

actual

map

actual

map

miles X

inch 1

miles 380

inches 4.75

miles 80

)380(175.4

x

x

Example 6: At 555 feet tall, the Washington Monument is the highest all-masonry tower. A scale model of the tower is 9.25 inches high. What is the scale of the model?

The scale of the model is 1 inch = 60 feet.

actual

model

actual

model

ft X

inch 1

feet 555

inches 9.25

ft 60

)555(125.9

x

x