Question

Preston is on a road trip. The next gas station on his route is 6 miles down the road. On Preston's map, the two are 3 inches apart. What scale does the map use?Write your answer as a decimal or whole number.

Answer 1

To answer this question, first, we will convert 6miles into inches.

Recall that:

`1\text{mi}=63360\text{in.}`

Therefore:

`6mi=6\cdot63360in=380160in.`

Finally, we know that 3 inches in the map represent 380160inches, therefore the scale is:

`3in\colon380160in\text{.}`

Now, recall that:

`ab\colon ac=b\colon c\text{.}`

Then the scale factor is:

`1in\colon126720in.`

Since 1mi=63360in we get that:

`126720in=2mi\text{.}`

Answer: The scale factor is:

`1in\colon2mi\text{.}`