Do you remember what the scale is for?

In order to be able to depict on paper objects that in reality have not very "convenient" dimensions, people have come up with a scale. Strictly speaking, this explains why scale is needed.

When the school program begins to reveal the concept of scale

For the first time children encounter this word while studying maps and terrain plans. The teacher explains what the scale is for, what he shows, using the example of atlases. It is explained that any geographical object is so large that its image in its natural size will be difficult and inconvenient. People painted the area in a reduced form, but for this they did not use any exact ratios. Now it's being done wisely - every dash and line depicted on the map have a size that can be multiplied by a certain number and learn the true length and width.

Scale recording: the first way how to read

The scale is denoted by two numbers written through the colon. The first digit denotes the units of dimension in the figure, the second indicates how many real units in the figure correspond to the first number. For example, if a scale of 1: 1000 is specified on a plan, and the unit sizes are indicated in centimeters, then one centimeter in the figure corresponds to 1000 cm in reality. It turns out, what is the scale for? With its help, you can not only reduce certain objects on the graphical plane, but also accurately calculate their real size.

The second way to write a scale: what is convenient?

The previous way to write a scale through the colon is called numeric. But there is also a named scale. His record is as follows: in 1 cm - 20 km. It turns out that in this way it is possible to compactly record huge scales that will not be expressed by numbers with several zeros if there is a situation where it is necessary to indicate in one centimeter several hundred kilometers. It is immediately clear how much, what and what. Such a record is more intuitive and more intuitive.

Scaling in drafting: what is complemented by the previously studied concept

With the notion of scale, they face not only in geography, but also in the study of such a subject as drawing. The same principles are used to represent different objects. But there is an essential difference: here the concept of what the scale is for is expanded by the fact that with its help it is possible to depict small details more large. In geography, this is not the case, because there are not so small objects in geography that there is a need to increase them. The continents and mountains, rivers and lakes are in any case more than sheets of A4 paper or even A1.

Studying the drawing, you can use the scale to represent in larger form the smallest details, for example, a bolt or a screw. So, why do we need a scale in this case? With its help, you can more conveniently, clearly and in detail depict a small element. In this case, the record is reversed: the first number will be larger than the second, and the 100: 1 record will sound like this: 100 metric units of the image corresponds to one unit of the actual size.

A few clarifying examples

Why do we need a scale, what does it show in the case of the image of a smaller object, which is the result on paper? Again, we have the exact parity of the image dimensions of the detail and the real object. Recall the same scale of 100: 1. It turns out that in a hundred millimeters in the figure, only one millimeter of real size. If the width of a part is 500 mm in the figure, its real width is only 5 millimeters.

If we recall the first case, the image on a small copy of a large object, the scale 1: 100 will mean that in one millimeter the figure contains 100 millimeters of the true size. Total, if the length of some object is 80 millimeters in the drawing or map, in reality the length of the object will be 8000 millimeters. A clear example of what scale is needed for and what is the convenient invention of mankind.

The main thing in using a scale is to remember immediately that the first number refers to the image, and the second refers to the actual size of the objects. In order not to get confused, in order to consolidate these foundations in schools, practical geography classes are conducted, in order for the children to explain and calculate the sizes of real objects several times with the help of an atlas. The same happens in drawing lessons.

Let's sum up the results

Why do we need a scale? The answer to this question consists of three points that you just need to remember:

• First, the scale is necessary for the image of large objects on a convenient surface for viewing.
• Second - the scale is needed in order to depict small objects in a larger size.
• Third, the scale is necessary in order to be able to accurately determine the size of a real object, regardless of its initial value, small or large.