Scale & Models

1 / 7
Hook

The map and the road

A road map says "1 inch = 50 miles." On the map, two towns are 3.5 inches apart. How far apart are they in real life? The map isn't a random drawing — every inch stands for exactly 50 miles, no matter which inch you pick. That constant ratio is called a scale.

A scale is a ratio that holds for every measurement.