Math  /  Geometry

QuestionMr. Perez used a map to find out how far it is between two cities. On the map, the distance between the two citles is 4 inches. The actual distance between the cities is 300 miles.
What was the scale on the map that was used to calculate the distance between the two citles? 1 inch represents 150 miles 75 inches represents 1 mile 1 inch represents 75 miles 1 inch represents 1 mile

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

What is this asking? If 4 inches on a map represents 300 miles in real life, how many miles does 1 inch on the map represent? Watch out! Don't mix up inches and miles!
We need to find the number of miles per inch, not inches per mile.

STEP 2

1. Set up a proportion
2. Solve for the unknown

STEP 3

Alright, let's **rock** this map problem!
We know that 4 inches on the map equals 300 miles in real life.
We can write this as a **fraction**: 4 inches300 miles\frac{4 \text{ inches}}{300 \text{ miles}}.
This fraction represents the **ratio** of map distance to real distance.

STEP 4

We want to find how many miles 1 inch on the map represents.
Let's call this unknown number of miles "xx".
We can write another **fraction** for this: 1 inchx miles\frac{1 \text{ inch}}{x \text{ miles}}.

STEP 5

Now, here comes the **magic** of proportions!
We set these two fractions **equal** to each other, because the scale of the map stays the same: 4 inches300 miles=1 inchx miles \frac{4 \text{ inches}}{300 \text{ miles}} = \frac{1 \text{ inch}}{x \text{ miles}}

STEP 6

To solve for xx, we can **cross-multiply**.
This gives us: 4 inchesx miles=300 miles1 inch 4 \text{ inches} \cdot x \text{ miles} = 300 \text{ miles} \cdot 1 \text{ inch} 4x=300 4x = 300

STEP 7

Now, we want to get xx all by itself.
Since xx is being multiplied by **4**, we'll **divide both sides** of the equation by **4**: 4x4=3004 \frac{4x}{4} = \frac{300}{4} x=75 x = 75

STEP 8

So, x=75x = \mathbf{75} miles.
This means 1 inch on the map represents **75** miles in real life!

STEP 9

The scale of the map is 1 inch represents 75 miles.

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