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Scale

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98 views4 pages

Scale

Uploaded by

smchironda
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Scale

It is impossible to draw the exact measurements of distances on the actual ground on


a piece of paper since it is small. If we are given the exact information from a piece of
land, it is important that we draw this carefully, in proportion to the actual size. The
geographical term used to describe the proportion is scale.
A map represents a much larger area of land than the paper on which it is drawn. Maps
are scaled down so that they fit on manageable pages. A scale can be defined as
follows:
Scale is the ratio of a distance between two points on a map and the actual distance of the
same two points on the ground.
It can also be defined as:
Scale is the relationship between distances on the map and those on the actual ground.
When scaling down a map, every part of the map must be reduced by the same
amount. This ensures that the map is in proportion to the ground area it represents. A
map scale tells us how many times smaller the map is than the area it represents.
The scale on a map is the ratio between real life sizes and how many times it has been
shrunk to fit it on the map.
Value of scale
• Scale is important because without it, measurements, and calculations on
maps(e.g., of area, distance) are impossible.
• Without, scale it is impossible to draw accurate maps.
• Besides maps, scale is also important when doing engineering drawing,
drawing building plans, drawing plans for bridges and dams etc. Scale is
therefore important not only for map purposes but in our daily life.
Types of scale
There are three types of scale which are:
1. The simple statement scale
2. The representative fraction scale
3. The line or linear scale

The simple statement scale


• The simple statement scale, or word scale is when you make a statement
saying what the distance on the map represents on the ground.
• For example, 1 centimetre represents 10 kilometres. This means that 1
centimetre on the map represents 10 kilometres on the actual ground.
• The smaller distance refers to the map and the large distance refers to the
ground.
• Although this type of scale is easy to understand remember it is incorrect to
say that 1cm=10km because 1cm can never be equal to 10km.
• It is however correct to say that 1 cm on the map represents 10km on the
actual ground. In short this is written as 1cm to 10km or 1cm represents 10km.
• The distance on the ground is always metres or kilometres.
Representative Fraction

• It is a scale given as a representative fraction, for example,

𝟏 or 1: 50 000.
5𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎
• One unit on the map is equal to 50000 units of the same size on the actual
ground.
• A representative fraction always uses the same unit of measurement for both
the map and the ground.
• This example RF give above means that 1 cm on the map represents 50 000cm
on the ground which is 1km.
• On most maps, it is given as a ratio 1:50000

NB- There are 100 000 cm in a kilometre (1km) and 100cm in a metre (1m).
When you are given the map scale as 5cm to 500m, the following steps are taken to
make it a representative fraction:
1. Convert the measurement on the ground to centimetres so that they are the
same unit measurement. The statement of the scale will then read: 5cm
𝟓
represents 50 000cm, that is .
𝟓𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎
2. Calculate what each single unit on the map represents, so divide each side by
5.
𝟏
3. The RF is or 1:10 000.
𝟏𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎

Activity 3

Change the following statement scales to representative fractions:

1. 1cm on the map represents 2km on the ground.

2. 5cm on the map represents 10m on the ground.


3. 10cm on the map represents 50km on the ground.

Write the answers in your notebook.

Line or Linear scale


• A line or linear scale represents actual distances that are shown on the map.
• It is a special ruler that is drawn below a map that can be used to measure an
area or distance.
• It is divided into a smaller number of equal parts. The divisions on the line
scale measure map distances and the labeling will give you the distance on
the ground.
• To the right of zero – each scale division represents a distance of 1kn.
• To the left of zero – the distance representing 1km is shown. This is
subdivided into ten equal parts. Each part represents a distance of 100m.
• The distances can be measured and read off directly from the scale.

Fig.1 Line scale showing that 2cm represents 1km (1:50 000)

Fig.2 Line scale showing that 4cm represents 1km (or 1:25 000)
Scale sizes
Scale and types of maps
The scale of a map is important as this determines the amount of information that the
map can show. Maps can be divided into three categories.
1. Small scale maps- Distances on the maps are greatly reduced e.g., 1:250
000, 1:500 000, 1: 1 000 000. Such scales are used to show countries and
other large areas on atlases or wall maps.
2. Medium scale maps-use scales of 1:100 000, 1:25 000 and the popular 1:50
000. It provides a map with plenty of detail, yet it is not too large to handle.
3. Large scale maps- use scale of 1:20 000, 1:10 000 and 1:5000 and plans
which are very detailed at 1:1000, 1:500 and 1:250. Such plans are large
enough to show underground pipes, boundary lines between gardens and so
on.
We can make the general statement that the larger the scale, the greater the map
detail which can be shown. The table below shows examples of size of scales.
Small scale Medium scale Large scale
(atlas) (topographical (plans)
survey)
1:60 000 000 1:1 00 000 1:20 000
1:30 000 000 1:50 000 1:10 000
1:5 000 000 1:25 000 1:5 000
1:1 000 000 1:1 000
1:2 00 000

NB- Maps on larger scales show more details than those on smaller scales.
• The larger the denominator of the representative fraction, the smaller the scale.
• The smaller the denominator of the representative fraction, the larger the scale.

Activity 4

Group the following into small scales, medium scales, and large scales:
1. 1cm on the map represents 10km on the ground.
2. 4cm on the map represents 40km on the ground.
3. 1cm on the map represents 5m on the ground.
4. 1: 12 000
5. 1:5 00 000
6. 1:1 500

Write answers in your notebook.

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