4 Maps
Maps are very similar to scale drawings. The main difference is that they are usually used to show places.
If you look in a holiday brochure you will see lots of maps. They are often used to show how a resort is laid out. They show where a few important places are, such as local shops, hotels, the beach, swimming pools and restaurants.
It is important to understand how to read a map so that you do not end up too far from the places you want to be near – or too close to the places you want to avoid!
Case study _unit5.4.1 Example: Holiday map
Here is a typical example of a map you find in a holiday brochure.
How far apart is everything on this map?
Method
As with scale drawings, the thing you need to know before you can understand the map is the scale. In this example the scale is 1:1,000. This means that every 1 cm on the map represents 1,000 cm (or 10 m) in real life.
Using the scale, you can interpret the data on the map and work out how far different places are from one another.
To do this you need to measure the distances on the map and then multiply them by 1,000 to get the actual distance in centimetres. Or, more simply, you could multiply the distances in centimetres by 10 to get the actual distance in metres.
So on this map the Grooves Nightclub is 1 cm from Hotel Party. In real life that’s 10 m – not very far at all. Knowing this could affect whether you choose to stay at Hotel Party, depending on whether you like nightclubs or not.
Now try the following activity. Remember to check your answers once you have completed the questions.
Activity _unit5.4.1 Activity 7: Using a map to find distances
Let’s stay with the map of the holiday resort.
Box _unit5.4.1
Hint: The entrances to the buildings are marked with crosses on the map. You need to measure from these crosses.
- What is the distance in real life between the pub and Hotel Sun in metres?
- How far is it in real life from the Super Shop to the Beach Bistro in metres?
- What is the distance in real life from Grooves Nightclub to the beach in metres?
Answer
The distance on the map between the pub and Hotel Sun is 4 cm on the map, and the scale is 1:1,000. This means that 1 cm on the drawing is equal to 1,000 cm in real life. So to find out what 4 cm is in real life, you need to multiply it by 1,000:
- 4 × 1,000 = 4,000 cm
The question asks for the length in metres, so you need to convert centimetres into metres:
- 4,000 ÷ 100 = 40 m
The actual distance in real life between the pub and Hotel Sun is 40 m.
- The distance on the map is 2 cm. Using the same calculation, the actual distance in real life between the Super Shop and the Beach Bistro is 20 m.
- The distance on the map is 6 cm. Using the same calculation, the actual distance in real life between Grooves nightclub and the beach is 60 m.
Summary
In this section you have learned how to use maps.