A blueprint for a garage has a scale of 1.5 cm to 3 m. On the blueprint, the length of one wall is 8 cm. If w represents the length of the actual wall, what is w?

Answer 1

1 m = 100 cm

1 cm = 1 / 100 m

1.5 cm = 1.5 / 100 m = 0.015 m

8 cm = 8 / 100 m = 0.08 m

1.5 cm / 3 m = 8 cm / w m

0.015 m / 3 m = 0.08 m / w m

0.015 / 3 = 0.08 / w

Cross multiply.

0.015 w = 0.24

w = 0.24 / 0.015 =16

w = 16 m

Or simpler:

w = 3 / 1.5 ∙ 8 = 24 / 1.5 = 16

w = 16 m