Box one

9 in.

5.4 in.

Box two

3 in.

5 in.

What scale factor was used to enlarge the rectangle in the image? The measurements refer to inches. Give your answer as a decimal.

1 answer

To find the scale factor, we need to compare the corresponding sides of the two boxes.

The vertical side of box one is 9 in, and the vertical side of box two is 3 in. So, the scale factor for the vertical side is 3/9 = 1/3.

The horizontal side of box one is 5.4 in, and the horizontal side of box two is 5 in. So, the scale factor for the horizontal side is 5/5.4 = 5/54.

Since both numbers are decimals (less than 1), we can simplify the fraction to its decimal form.

The scale factor for the vertical side is 1/3 = 0.3333 (rounded to four decimal places).

The scale factor for the horizontal side is 5/54 ≈ 0.0926 (rounded to four decimal places).

Therefore, the scale factor used to enlarge the rectangle in the image is approximately 0.3333 vertically and 0.0926 horizontally.