Question

The scale of a map is given as 1 : 20000000. Two cities are 6 cm apart on the map. Find the actual distance between them.

​

Answer 1

The actual distance between the cities is 1,200 Km

Explanation:

Scaling

Objects can be represented in a reduced or augmented size by using scaling which is multiplying or dividing real dimensions by a constant factor. We use scaling when representing geographic locations on a map.

We are given the scale on a map as 1:20,000,000.

Two cities are 6 cm on the map. The actual distance is obtained by multiplying:

6 * 20,000,000 = 120,000,000 cm

Divide by 100 to convert to meters and by 1,000 to convert to km 120,000,000/100/1,000=1,200 Km

The actual distance between the cities is 1,200 Km