A scale drawing - Math Central

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Question from aretha, a student:

i have a scale drawing of a house floor plan, don't understand how
to find the answer. the drawing is 1in: 3ft. need to find the length /
width/and the actual length/width of the living room,kitchen, 3bedrooms
deck,sitting room, entry, and closet

Hi Aretha,

The scale is given by 1in: 3f so each inch on the plan corresponds to 3 feet in the house. Thus to find the real dimension of some length on the plan, measure the length on the plan in inches and then multiply by 3. The result is the length in the house in feet. Thus something that measures 1.5 inches on the plan is in fact $1.5 \times 3 = 4.5$ feet in the house.

Penny

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