Understanding

Scale Drawings
 Aim
• Understand the term scale drawing.
• Interpret scale drawings into actual measures.
• Interpret actual measures into scale drawings.
 Scale Drawings
When designing a house it would be
ridiculous for an architect to draw a
full-size plan.

Instead the architect draws a smaller

diagram in which all measurements
have been divided by the same
number.

For this reason, we use scale

drawings.
 Scale Drawings
A scale drawing is a drawing of an
object that has to use different
measures on the drawing.

For example:
A wall may have real-life
measurements of 5m × 8m. However,
there is no way you could draw these
actual measurements on paper.

For this reason, we use scale

drawings.
Who Uses Scale Drawings?
architects
builders/plumbers/electrician/joiners
structural engineers
surveyors
machinists
interior designers
 Interpreting Actual Measures into
Scale Drawings
To properly use a scale diagram we
need to know the scale used. Scales are
commonly given in the following ways:
Scale → 1 cm represents 50 m.
This tells us that 1 cm on the scale
diagram represents 50 m on the real
thing.
Scale → 1 : 5000
This ratio tells us that 1 unit on the
scale diagram represents 5000 of the
same units on the real thing.

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Answers
 Scale Drawings
So, because 5m × 8m is too big to
draw on paper, we change these
measurements into scaled
measurements.

Instead of using metres, we

change it to a smaller measure:

1 cm : 1 m
Now, we are able to draw our wall
(5cm × 8cm) and know that every
cm we draw, represents one
metre in real life.
 Interpreting Scale Drawings into
Actual Measurements

Look at the building. This

building has been ‘drawn to
scale’.

1 cm : 1 m
14cm
What are the actual
measurements of this building?

That’s right, 7m wide and

14m high!
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7cm
Answers
 Interpreting Scale Drawings into
Actual Measurements

Look at the building. This

building has been ‘drawn to
scale’.

1 cm : 3 m
15cm
What are the actual
measurements of this building?

That’s right, 12m wide and

45m high!
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4cm
Answers
 Interpreting Actual Measures into
Scale Drawings
Sometimes, we need to convert
actual measurements into scaled
40m
measurements.
Look at the building.
This building shows it’s actual
measurements.

5 m : 1 cm
What are the scaled
measurements of this building? 60m

That’s right, 12cm wide and

8cm high! Show
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Answers
On a scale diagram 1 cm represents
20 m.
- Write the scale as the ratio
1 cm to 20 m
= 1 cm to (20 x 100) cm
= 1 cm to 2000 cm
= 1 : 2000
- Whate is the scale factor
The ratio simplifies to
1 : 2000
so the scale factor is 2000
 An object 12 m long is drawn with
the scale 1 : 100.
Find the drawn length of the object.
12 m = 1200 cm

drawn length = actual length : 100 (scale factor 100)

drawn length = (1200 : 100) cm

drawn length = 12 cm
 For a scale of 1 : 500 000, find the
actual length represented by a drawn
length of 15 cm.
actual length = 15 cm x 500,000
= 7 500 000 cm
= (7 500 000 : 100) m
= 75 000 m
= (75 000 : 1000) km
= 75 km
actual length = 75 km