McKnight's Physical Geography Lab 4.1

What are the three common ways to indicate the scale of a map?

1) Graphic scale 2) Fractional scale 3) Verbal Scale

How many meters are in 1 kilometer?

1,000 meters

On a map with a scale of 1:24,000, a measured distance of 1 inch represents an actual distance of how many feet?

1/24,000 12 inches = 1 foot Therefore, 24,000 ÷ 12 in = 2,000 feet

On a map with a scale of 1:62,500, a measured distance of 4.5 inches represents an actual distance of how many miles?

1/62,500 63,360 inches = 1 mile Therefore, 4.5 in × 62,500 = 281250 in ÷ 63,360 = 4.4 miles

How many centimeters are in 1 kilometer?

100,000 centimeters

If we have a map with a scale of 1/50,000, a measured distance of 22 cm on the map represents an actual distance of how many centimeters?

22 cm × 50,000 = 1,100,000 cm

How many feet are in 1 mile?

5,280 feet

How many inches are in 1 mile?

63,360 inches

Representative fraction

Another name for fractional scale.

Large-scale maps

Large-scale maps refer to maps with a relatively large representative fraction (such as 1/10,000). These maps show much greater detail of a smaller area.

Verbal scale

Map scale can also be represented in words. In the attached image 1 inch represents 2,000 feet. Each scale will vary depending on the map.

Scale

Scale is the relationship between the distance shown on a map and the actual distance that is represented on Earth.

Verbal map scales

Simply mathematical manipulations of the fractional scale.

Small-scale maps

Small-scale maps refer to maps with a relatively small representative fraction (such as 1/1,000,000). These maps show much larger areas, but very little detail.

Fractional scale

The fractional scale expresses the scale of a map as a fraction or ratio (1/24,000 or 1:24,000). Note that the units of measurement must be the same in both the numerator and the denominator. In the attached image it is the top line titled "scale".

Graphic scale

The graphic scale for a map is a bar graph, demonstrated by distance. In the attached image it is the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th line each represents a different measure (mile, feet, kilometer).

Map scale

The scale of a map indicates how much Earth has been reduced for reproduction on that map.