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LESSON 5 – USING DISTANCE AND SCALE KEY TERMS

Distance A measurement of how far something is

Scale The ratio of the length in a drawing (or model) to the length on the real thing

TASK 1

Put these places into order of distance from Kidsgrove starting with 1 being the closest to School and 5

being the furthest away!

Place original order Place closest to school CHALLENGE what is the distance from school in miles?

Hanley, UK

San Francisco, USA

Paris, France

Sydney, Australia

London, UK

SCALE ON A MAP

A scale is what makes drawing a map possible. Places and distances

are reduced in size to fit onto a map. The scale of the map helps

you to work out the distance between one place and another in

real life. Scales are often shown as ratios like this: 1:25000. This

scale means that 1 cm on the map is the same as 25,000cm in the

real world.

The scale on the map to the right is shown at the bottom of the

map. It shows that the bar is worth 2km in real life. This bar at the bottom of a map is called a scale bar.

TASK 2

Work out how much 1cm would represent on a map from the ratios below

1. 1:50000 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. 1:1000 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. 1:75000 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. 1:500 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. 1:10 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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HOW DOES SCALE RELATE TO DISTANCE?

We need to use the scale to help up measure distances on a map. Without the scale if we measured a

distance on a map we wouldn’t know the length of that distance. Also the scale helps to keep the map

in proportions. This means that all the buildings, roads and other features are proportionally the same

size on the map as in real life.

How do we measure distance on a map?

To measure the straight line distance is easy. Get a ruler or piece of paper and simply measure the

distance between the two points. Then compare it to the scale at the bottom of the map page to find

out how far it is in real life.

To measure the distance it would actually be if you travelled by road or footpath is a little more

complicated.

To do this we have to measure around the curvy bits and corners that roads and paths have, because

roads and pathways hardly ever go in a straight line. Move the paper or string and mark it all around the

curves until you finally reach the point to wanted to measure to Basically you are turning the curvy line

into lots of little straight lines

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TASK 3

(this might be easier IF printed off but give it a go on the computer)

Measure and then compare to the scale, give your answer in miles. Remember try to be exact as

possible by giving your answers with a decimal place e.g. 1.3 miles etc

TASK 4

USING THE SCALE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MAP, measure the distances (in km) between the following..

a. The straight line distance

between the church (with

spire) in Steeton and the

church (with spire) in

Silsden

b. The straight line distance

between and

c. Now, measure the distance

between and along the

road

d. The straight line distance

between and

e. Now, measure the

distance between and along the

canal

Scale

0 1 mile

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

16 17 18 19

92

93

94

95

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TASK 5

Give the four figure grid references for…

a. ……………………………..

b. ……………………………..

c. Town Head ……………………………..

What do you find at…

a. 168 928 ……………………………..

b. 172 945 ……………………………..

TASK 6

The map below zooms in on the area of Westminster

Use it to answer the questions on the next page.

1cm

75m

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1. How long is Westminster Bridge?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2. The Houses of Parliament is shown by its proper name of the Palace of Westminster on this map.

How far does the Prime Minister have to travel to get from 10 Downing Street to Parliament?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3. What is the perimeter of Jubilee Gardens?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

4. What is the perimeter of Horse Guards Parade (directly across the river from Jubilee Gardens)?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

5. Which is larger, Jubilee Gardens or Horse Guards Parade?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

6. A walking tour of the government buildings starts at Big Ben, goes up Parliament St and Whitehall, along Northumberland Avenue, and back down the Victoria Embankment. Approximately how far is this walk? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

KNOWLEDGE CHECK

1. What is distance?

2. What is scale?

3. What is the scale on a 1:25 000 map?