Scale is used from mapwork in Geography - NSW Curriculum

1. Scale
Mr ShippGeography Skills and Tools

2. • To draw a map of any part of the world, the area must be
reduced in size, or scaled down, so that it can fit on to a
sheet of paper.
• Therefore the scale on a map shows us how the distance on
a map relates to the actual distance on the earths surface.
• Scales allow you to work out distances between places as
well as the size of large towns, lakes, forests and the map
area.
Border
Orientation
Legend
Title
Scale
Source

3. • These were models because they
represent the real thing – only on a smaller
scale.
• Similarly, a map is a drawing of an area
that is at a smaller scale than in reality.
• To draw a map of any part of the world, the
area must be reduced in size, or scaled
down, so that it can fit onto a sheet of
paper.

4. • Map Scales can be expressed in 3 ways:
1. As a statement; for example:
- 1 centimetre (on a map) represents 100 000 centimetres (in
real life) or
- 1 centimetre represents 1 Kilometre.
2. As a ratio or representative fraction; for example:
- 1: 100 000 or 1
______
100 000
3. As a linear scale; for example:
0km 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

7. Small and Large Scales
large-scale maps show a
small area with a great
amount of detail
small-scale maps show a
large area with a small
amount of detail