Name: _____________________

Date: _____________________

2.2 - Scale Drawings

Scale Drawing: An enlarged or reduced version of a real life object. The left number in the
ratio is for the scale drawing and the right number represents Real life.

Example: Scale Drawing : Real Life

2 cm : 5 m

Scale Ratio: SCALE ratios are put to 1 cm (if you are asked to draw or state the scale)
Example: Scale Drawing : Real Life
2 cm : 5 m (state the given ratio)
= 2cm : 5 x 100 (convert to cm by x100)
= 2cm : 500 cm (divide both sides by 2 to find scale ratio)
= 1cm : 250 cm

Remember:
 A scale is a ratio of two measures in the SAME UNITS
 When possible, always put scale ratios in simplest form

Think of where you would find scale drawings or ratios in the real word. Here is one:

Example 1: The height of the CN tower is 553m. If you were to draw a model on paper and 4cm
represented 10 m, what would the scale ratio be?
Scale Drawing : Real Life
4 cm : 10 m (state the given ratio)
= 4 cm : _____ (convert to cm by x100)
= ____ : _____ (write final answer as unit rate)

Grade 8| Number Sense & Numeration

 Name: _____________________
Date: _____________________

Example 2:
Sumaya builds a model of a small airplane using a scale of 3 cm to represent 5 m.
a)What is the scale ratio?

b) If the airplane is 11 m long, how long is her model?

Example 3: Here is a scale drawing of a leaf-cutting ant. Calculate the actual length of the ant.

Scale: Actual Ant OR Actual Ant : Scale

3 : 1 1 :3

Let the actual length be x centimeters.

Use a ruler to measure the length of the ant. The length on the drawing is measured as 4.9cm.
Write as a proportion: x : 4.9 = 1:3
Solve for x.

Therefore, the actual length of the ant is about 1.6 cm

Grade 8| Number Sense & Numeration

 Name: _____________________
Date: _____________________
Example 4: Sketch your finger with finger nail. Measure your fingernail in mm (any). Choose a
scale. Make a scale drawing.

How do we know which scale to use?

Example 5:
A park has dimensions 8.5 m by 11.25 m. Make a scale drawing on blank piece of paper that
measures 28 cm by 21.5 cm.

Step 1: What assumptions do we make?

 We need some margin space of around 3 cm on each side. So let’s use 25cm by 18cm

Step 2: Find the ratios of the corresponding dimensions:

Grade 8| Number Sense & Numeration

 Name: _____________________
Date: _____________________

Step 3: Choose a scale: Decide on a sale based on the ratios you have found.
In this case, let’s use 1: 50. This means 1 cm represents 50 cm.
The park has dimensions 1125 cm x 850 cm
The ratio is 1:50

So, the scale drawing has dimensions: Length Width

Ratio Ratio

Step 4: Use a ruler to complete scale drawing in this space. Label all dimensions.

Grade 8| Number Sense & Numeration