Scale Drawings for Kids: Use a Scale to Find Real Lengths and Areas (Grade 7 Math)

Hi, I'm Luna from DoodleBeez. Today we are learning about scale drawings. Maps, floor plans and models show real things smaller or bigger. A scale tells us how the drawing matches real life.

On this map, the scale is one centimeter to five kilometers. Every centimeter on the map stands for five real kilometers. Two towns are four centimeters apart, so four times five is twenty kilometers.

Here is a floor plan with a scale of one centimeter to two meters. A room is drawn six centimeters long and four centimeters wide. Multiply by two. The real room is twelve meters by eight meters.

We can go the other way too. To draw a real length on the map, divide by the scale. A trail is thirty kilometers long. With one centimeter for five kilometers, thirty divided by five is six centimeters.

Areas need extra care. Our drawn room is six by four, which is twenty four square centimeters. But the real room is twelve by eight, which is ninety six square meters. Each square centimeter stands for four square meters.

Some scales have no units, like one to fifty. That means the real object is fifty times bigger than the model. A model house is thirty centimeters tall, so the real house is fifteen hundred centimeters, or fifteen meters.

Now it's your turn. A map scale is one centimeter to three kilometers. Two lakes are seven centimeters apart on the map. How far apart are they really? Pause and try. Seven times three is twenty one kilometers.

Great job! Remember, multiply by the scale to go from drawing to real life, divide to go back, and for areas, use the real lengths. Practice scale drawings in Middle School Math at doodlebeez.com. See you next time!