My Math Notes – 2 : DRAWING SCALE

Problems related to drawing scale compared to actual dimension, can be easily solved using
Ratio and Proportion. The only thing that needs to check is to have the consistency of using
Units, as questions and choices are often mixed up with Units (inches, feet, mm, cm, m, km,
cm², m², km², hectares, etc…). Note that this type of question may come out on Practical,
Design or Math Problems

1
Using Ratio and Proportion. Ex. Scale 1:500 can be in a fraction form ;
500
Note: If the scale did not mention the units, it can be assumed that numerator and
denominator has the same units, say 1cm (dimension on the plan) is to 500cm (actual
dimension)

Getting the actual dimension,

1 (𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑚)
=
500 (𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑚)
(the units are dependent on the given data, but numerator and denominator should have
consistent units)

1𝑐𝑚
However, if the scale mentioned different units, say 1cm : 500m or
500𝑚
Getting the actual dimension,
1𝑐𝑚 (𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑚)
=
500𝑚 (𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑚)

or
1𝑖𝑛. (𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ)
=
10𝑓𝑡 (𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡)

Examples:

1. If a Plumbing Plan scaled as 1: 200, then 1 cm in the plan is equal to____ in actual?
a. 200 ft b. 200 mts c. 2 meters d. 20 meters

Notice that the problem and choices have different units. Make sure to have consistent units
by conversion,
1 1 (𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛)
Using Ratio and Proportion, = ; x = 200;
200 𝑋 (𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛)
(some would immediately answer B without checking the units, not realizing that the resulting
1 1𝑐𝑚
200 is in unit cm, while choice B is in meters; = ; x = 200cm)
200 𝑋
1𝑚
Convert; x = 200 cm x = 2 meters
100𝑐𝑚

MP SPLBE 2016 COMPILED BY: O.T. AÑO

2. If a Plumbing Plan scaled as 1: 1,000, then 2 cm in the plan is equal to____ in actual?
a. 200 meters b. 20 meter c. 2 meter d. 2000 meters

1 2𝑐𝑚 1𝑚
= ; x = 2000 cm x = 20 meters, Ans. C
1000 𝑋 100𝑐𝑚

3. If a Plumbing Plan scaled as 1: 50, then 20 cm x 40cm cistern plan is equal to____ cubic
mts in actual? Assume 2.00 mts actual depth of the cistern.
a. 800 cu mts b. 1600 sq. mts c. 400 cu mts d. 2400 cu mts

For consistency of Units, convert all given dimension to meter, 20cm = 0.2m ; 40cm = 0.4m
1 0.2𝑚 1 0.4𝑚
= ; X = 10m ; = ; Y = 20m ;
50 𝑋 50 𝑌
Volume = 10m x 20m x 2m depth = 400m³

OR, solve in terms of Area, given dimensions

1 0.2𝑚 𝑥 0.4𝑚
= ; Actual Area, x = 200 m² ; Volume = 200 m² x 2m depth = 400 m³
50² 𝑋

4. If a Plumbing Plan scaled as 1: 50, then 400 square cm in the plan is equal to____ in actual?
a. 100 sq. ft . b. 100 sq mts c. 200 sq. mts d. 200 sq. ft.

1 400 𝑐𝑚² 𝑚²
= ; x = 1000000 cm² x = 100 m²
50² 𝑋 100²𝑐𝑚²

5. If a Plumbing Plan scaled as 1: 10,000, then 10 cm x 20cm catchment area in the plan is equal
to____ cubic mts of rainfall in actual for every hour? Assume 100 mm/hr rain intensity.
a. 300,000 cu mts b. 200,000 cu mts c. 400,000 cu mts d. None of the above

For consistency of Units, convert all given dimension to meter, 10cm = 0.1m ; 20cm = 0.2m;
100mm/ hr = 0.1m/ hr
1 0.1𝑚 1 0.2𝑚
= ; X = 1000m ; = ; Y = 2000m ;
10000 𝑋 10000 𝑌

Rainfall = 1000m x 2000m x 0.1 m/ hr = 200,000 m³/ hr

OR, solve in terms of Area, given dimensions

1 0.1𝑚 𝑥 0.2𝑚
= ; Area, x = 2,000,000 m² ;
10000² 𝑋
Rainfall = 2,000,000 m² x 0.1 m/hr = 200,000 m³/ hr

MP SPLBE 2016 COMPILED BY: O.T. AÑO

Riley drew a scale drawing of a house and its lot. She used the scale 1 inch = 2 feet. The
actual width of the backyard deck is 48 feet. How wide is the deck in the drawing?
Ans: 24 inches

1 𝑖𝑛. 𝑋 𝑖𝑛.
= ; X = 24 inches
2 𝑓𝑡 48 𝑓𝑡.

Seth is participating in a bike race. There are aid stations along the course that provide
water, snacks, and first aid to the riders. On a map of the course, Seth notes that the first two
aid stations are 12 centimeters apart. How far apart are the two aid stations in real life if the
map uses a scale of 1 centimeter = 3 kilometers?
Ans: 36 kilometers

1 𝑐𝑚 12 𝑐𝑚
= ; X = 36 km
3 𝑘𝑚 𝑋 𝑘𝑚

Linda drew a scale drawing of the high school. In real life, the parking lot is 24 meters wide. It
is 3 centimeters wide in the drawing. What scale did Linda use?
Ans: 1 centimeter = 8 meters

1 𝑐𝑚 3 𝑐𝑚 1 𝑐𝑚
= ; X = 8 m or scale is
𝑋𝑚 24 𝑚 8𝑚

Lauren drew a scale drawing of a swimming pool. The scale she used was 1 centimeter = 4
meters. In the drawing, the pool is 3 centimeters wide. What is the width of the actual pool?
Ans: 12 meters

1 𝑐𝑚 3 𝑐𝑚
= ; X = 12 m
4𝑚 𝑋𝑚

Ellen drew a scale drawing of an Italian restaurant. The scale of the drawing was 1
centimeter = 3 meters. The restaurant's kitchen is 12 meters wide in real life. How wide is the
kitchen in the drawing?
Ans: 4 centimeters

1 𝑐𝑚 𝑋 𝑐𝑚
= ; X = 4 cm
3𝑚 12 𝑚

MP SPLBE 2016 COMPILED BY: O.T. AÑO