Question

The scale on a map is 5cm : 8km. If the distance between two cities is 56

km, how far apart in cm are the two cities on the map

Answer 1

35 cm

Explanation:

We are given the scale on a map is:

`5\text{ cm }:8\text{ km }`.

We are also asked to find
`x` such that:

`frac{x\text{ cm }:56\text{ km }`.

So I purposely put
`x` on top because the centimeters were on top in the previous fraction.

I purposely put
`56` on bottom because the kilometers were on bottom in previous fraction.

So this tells us how to setup the proportional that we need to solve which is:

`(5)/(8)=(x)/(56)`

Multiply both sides by 56:

`(5)/(8) \cdot 56=x`

Input left hand side into calculator or do it with your brain:

`5 \cdot (56)/(8)=x`

`5 \cdot 7=x`

`35=x`

So the answer is 35 cm.