A picture of a family crest is 4.94.9 inches wide. The family needs a reduced copy for the front page of the family newsletter. The copy must fit in a space 2.12.1 inches wide. What scale factor should be used on the copy machine to adjust the size of the picture of the​ crest?

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Part 1
The appropriate scale factor is enter your response here.
​(Simplify your answer. Round to two decimal places has needed

1 answer

To find the scale factor needed to reduce the family crest from its original size to fit the desired space, you need to divide the width of the space where the crest will be placed by the width of the original crest.

The original width of the family crest is 4.9 inches, and the desired width is 2.1 inches.

The formula to find the scale factor is:

\[ \text{Scale Factor} = \frac{\text{Desired Width}}{\text{Original Width}} \]

Substituting the values:

\[ \text{Scale Factor} = \frac{2.1}{4.9} \]

Now, calculate this value:

\[ \text{Scale Factor} \approx 0.42857 \]

Rounding to two decimal places:

\[ \text{Scale Factor} \approx 0.43 \]

Thus, the appropriate scale factor to use on the copy machine is 0.43.