Blue prints of a house are drawn to the scale of 1/4 in. = 1 ft. A kitchen measures 3.5 in. by 5 in. on the blue prints. What is the actual size of the kitchen?
From a confused 7th grader
+1090 First let's make the ratio have similar units: 1 ft. = 12 inches, so 1/4 in. to 12 in. is the ratio.
Another way to make the ratio easier is to multiply each side by the recipricol of 1/4 (Or flip-flopped fraction: 1/4 becomes 4/1.) 1/4*4 in. = 12*4 in. So we now have a very easy to understand ratio of 1 in. = 48 in.
We can now just multiply each side length by 48 to get the actual size:
$${\mathtt{3.5}}{\mathtt{\,\times\,}}{\mathtt{48}} = {\mathtt{168}}$$ in.
$${\mathtt{5}}{\mathtt{\,\times\,}}{\mathtt{48}} = {\mathtt{240}}$$ in.
These are our two side lengths: 168 in. * 240 in.
To get the area, just multiply these numbers together. If you want to concert to feet after getting the area, remember to divide by 144 (One square foot.)
+1090 First let's make the ratio have similar units: 1 ft. = 12 inches, so 1/4 in. to 12 in. is the ratio.
Another way to make the ratio easier is to multiply each side by the recipricol of 1/4 (Or flip-flopped fraction: 1/4 becomes 4/1.) 1/4*4 in. = 12*4 in. So we now have a very easy to understand ratio of 1 in. = 48 in.
We can now just multiply each side length by 48 to get the actual size:
$${\mathtt{3.5}}{\mathtt{\,\times\,}}{\mathtt{48}} = {\mathtt{168}}$$ in.
$${\mathtt{5}}{\mathtt{\,\times\,}}{\mathtt{48}} = {\mathtt{240}}$$ in.
These are our two side lengths: 168 in. * 240 in.
To get the area, just multiply these numbers together. If you want to concert to feet after getting the area, remember to divide by 144 (One square foot.)
