Determine the numerical scale of the map if the distance of 2500 km is expressed on it by a line segment 20 cm long
Determine the numerical scale of the map if the distance of 2500 km is expressed on it by a line segment 20 cm long. Write down the named scale of this map
To determine the scale of a given map, it should be taken into account that it shows, in the form of a ratio, how many times a single segment on the map is smaller than the segment it depicts in real terrain. In the terms of the assignment, it is said that a distance of 2500 km is displayed on the map as a 20-cm-long segment. We convert these values so that they have the same name: 2500 km = 250,000,000 cm. Then the scale will be 20/250000000, respectively. This fraction should be reduced, we get: 20/250000000 = 1/12500000 or 1: 12500000. Then the scale of the map with the names: 1 cm of the map contains 12500000 cm = 125 km of terrain.
Answer: map scale 1: 12500000, 1 cm of the map contains 125 km of terrain.
