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Map Scales

Test your understanding of map scales expressed as ratios with this self marking quiz.

Level 1 Level 2 Exam-Style Description Help Ratio Measures

This is level 1: straight-forward questions about map scales expressed as ratios You can earn a trophy if you get at least 7 questions correct and you do this activity online.

1. A map scale is give as 1:10000
What is the real distance between two points 50cm apart on the map?
Give your answer in kilometres.

km Correct Wrong

2. A different map has a scale of 1:50000
What is the real distance in kilometres between a church and a lake 18cm apart on the map?

km Correct Wrong

3. A rambling club use a map with a scale of 1:25000 to plan a Sunday morning hike. Using a piece of string they measure their route to be 36cm. What is the actual distance (in kilometers) of the hike?

km Correct Wrong

4. On a map of scale 1:100 000 the distance between Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London is 7.6cm. What is the actual distance in kilometers?

km Correct Wrong

5. How many metres long is flower garden if it is 17.2cm long on a 1:5000 scale map?

m Correct Wrong

6. The distance between Wolverhampton and Stafford is 27 kilometers. How far apart (in centimetres) will they be on a 1:50000 map?

cm Correct Wrong

7. The distance between Southampton and Eastleigh is 7.5 kilometers. How far apart (in centimetres) will they be on a 1:25000 map?

cm Correct Wrong

8. The distance between Bangkok and Tokyo is 14.5 cm on a 1:25 000 000 scale map of the world*. Using this fact calculate the actual distance in kilometers.

km Correct Wrong

9. The actual distance between Singapore and Sydney is 6302 kilometers. Calculate the distance between these two cities in centimetres, to the nearest centimetre, that should represent this distance on the 1:25 000 000 scale map of the world*.

cm Correct Wrong

10. A cycling club use a map with a scale of 1:25000 to plan a Sunday afternoon ride. They measure the route to be 140cm long.
Ryder Spoke takes part in the afternoon ride but has a puncture after 33km and decides to walk (pushing his bike) for the remaining section of the route. How far (in kilometers) does Ryder push his bike?

km Correct Wrong
Check

* Questions involving the map of the world do not take into account the curvature of the earth. That's a little too advanced for this exercise on map scales!

Instructions

Try your best to answer the questions above. Type your answers into the boxes provided leaving no spaces. As you work through the exercise regularly click the "check" button. If you have any wrong answers, do your best to do corrections but if there is anything you don't understand, please ask your teacher for help.

When you have got all of the questions correct you may want to print out this page and paste it into your exercise book. If you keep your work in an ePortfolio you could take a screen shot of your answers and paste that into your Maths file.

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Description of Levels

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Level 1 - Straight-forward questions about map scales expressed as ratios

Level 2 - More complex questions including the calculation of areas.

Exam Style questions are in the style of GCSE or IB/A-level exam paper questions and worked solutions are available for Transum subscribers.

More on Ratio including lesson Starters, visual aids and investigations.

More on Measures including lesson Starters, visual aids and investigations.

Answers to this exercise are available lower down this page when you are logged in to your Transum account. If you don’t yet have a Transum subscription one can be very quickly set up if you are a teacher, tutor or parent.

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Curriculum Reference

See the National Curriculum page for links to related online activities and resources.

Example

Don't wait until you have finished the exercise before you click on the 'Check' button. Click it often as you work through the questions to see if you are answering them correctly. You can double-click the 'Check' button to make it float at the bottom of your screen.

Answers to this exercise are available lower down this page when you are logged in to your Transum account. If you don’t yet have a Transum subscription one can be very quickly set up if you are a teacher, tutor or parent.

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