Question

If the distance between two towns is 5 cm on the map and 20 km in real life, then the scale of the map is .

• A. 1 cm : 4 km
• B. 2 cm : 5 km
• C. 1 km : 2 cm
• D. 1 cm : 5 km

Answer 1

The correct option is A 1 cm : 4 km

The scale of a map is the ratio of the distance on the map to the corresponding distance in real life.

The distance between two towns on the map and in real life are 5 cm and 20 km respectively.

Hence, 5 cm on the map corresponds to 20 km in real life.

$\therefore \frac{5cm}{5}=1\text{cm}$ on map corresponds to $\frac{20km}{5}=4\text{km}$ in real life.

$\therefore$ The scale of the map is 1 cm : 4 km.