Question

An architect's model of a building uses the scale of 1 inch = 2 1/2 feet. If theheight of the model is 20 inches, how tall will the actual building be?

Answer 1

We can use a proportion to solve this problem.

Proportions are set up as ratios that are equivalent to each other. For instance, if you were to set up the following ratio:

`(1)/(2)=(2)/(4)`

We know that this is true. We can also apply algebraic examples.

`(1)/(2.5)=(20)/(x)`

We can solve for x (the measurement for how tall the building will be) using cross-multiplication and simplification.

Let's cross-multiply the fractions.

`1x=50`

Then, we divide both sides by 1 to get x by itself.

`(1x)/(1)=(50)/(1)`

This leaves us with x = 50, which means that the building will be 50 feet tall.