Question

The rectangles below are scaled copies of one another. The side that corresponds to 8 units in the original rectangle is 4 units in the scaled copy.
Start by finding the scale factor from the original rectangle to the scaled copy.
Original Rectangle

8
4
Scaled Copy

4
The scale factor is

Answer 1

To find the scale factor from the original rectangle to the scaled copy, you can use the ratio of the corresponding sides.

Given:
- The side that corresponds to 8 units in the original rectangle is 4 units in the scaled copy.

The scale factor (k) can be calculated using the formula:

\[
k = \frac{\text{length in scaled copy}}{\text{length in original rectangle}} = \frac{4}{8}
\]

Simplifying this ratio:

\[
k = \frac{1}{2}
\]

Thus, the scale factor from the original rectangle to the scaled copy is \( \frac{1}{2} \).