Scale Factor

Front

What is a scale factor?

Back

A scale factor is a number that scales, or multiplies, a quantity. It is used to determine how much larger or smaller a figure is compared to another figure.

Front

How do you calculate the scale factor?

Back

Front

If a rectangle has a length of 10 inches and a scale factor of 2, what is the new length?

Back

The new length is 20 inches (10 inches * 2).

Front

What does it mean for two shapes to be similar?

Back

Two shapes are similar if they have the same shape but different sizes, meaning their corresponding angles are equal and their sides are proportional.

Front

If triangle ABC has sides of 3, 4, and 5, and triangle DEF has sides of 6, 8, and 10, what is the scale factor from triangle ABC to triangle DEF?

Back

The scale factor is 2 (each side of triangle DEF is twice the length of the corresponding side of triangle ABC).

Front

What is the scale factor if the old length is 5 cm and the new length is 15 cm?

Back

Front

If a drawing is 4 times larger than the original, what is the scale factor?

Back

The scale factor is 4.

Front

What is the relationship between scale factor and area?

Back

If the scale factor is k, the area of the new shape is k² times the area of the original shape.

Front

If two rectangles are similar and the scale factor is 1/3, what happens to the dimensions of the larger rectangle?

Back

The dimensions of the larger rectangle are multiplied by 1/3 to get the dimensions of the smaller rectangle.

Front

What is the scale factor from a 10 cm tall drawing to a 5 cm tall drawing?

Back

The scale factor is 1/2.