Question

Logan drew a scale drawing of an elephant. Use the scale to find the actual length of the elephant:


Scale: 1/4 inch = 2 feet

Answer 1

To find the actual length of the elephant using the scale provided (1/4 inch = 2 feet), you can set up a conversion based on the scale.

1. If you measure the length of the elephant on Logan's drawing in inches, let's denote this measurement as \( x \) inches.
2. Since the scale states that 1/4 inch represents 2 feet, you can first calculate how many 1/4 inch segments there are in \( x \) inches:
\[
\text{Number of } \frac{1}{4} \text{ inch segments} = \frac{x}{\frac{1}{4}} = 4x
\]
3. Now, each of these segments corresponds to 2 feet. Therefore, the actual length \( L \) of the elephant in feet can be calculated as:
\[
L = \text{Number of segments} \times \text{Length represented by each segment}
\]
\[
L = 4x \times 2 = 8x \text{ feet}
\]

So, for every inch measured on the drawing, the actual length of the elephant will be \( 8 \times \) that number in feet.

For example, if Logan's drawing measures 1 inch, the actual length of the elephant would be:
\[
L = 8 \times 1 = 8 \text{ feet}
\]

If you have the specific measurement from the drawing, you can plug that value into the formula \( L = 8x \) to find the actual length.