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:

$1in\colon2mi\text{.}$