Scale of 2D Shapes
Maths: Year 5 & 6 National Curriculum, topic 6.3.1
Scale of Shapes
The scale of shapes is how much bigger or smaller one shape is compared to another one.
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Scale of triangles
- The first triangle has a base length of 10 cm.
- The scale of the first triangle to the second triangle is 5 : 2.
- The ratio 5 : 2 means that for every 5 cm in the first triangle, you have 2 cm in the second triangle.
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How many 5 cms are there?
- You need to work out how many 5 cm lengths there are in the base of the first triangle.
- The base of the first triangle is 10 cm long.
- 10 ÷ 5 = 2 tells you that there are two 5 cm lengths in the base of the first triangle.
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Base of the second triangle
- Remember that for every 5 cm in the first triangle, there is 2 cm in the second triangle.
- There are two 5 cm lengths in the base of the first triangle.
- So there are two 2 cm lengths in the base of the second triangle.
- 2 × 2 cm = 4 cm
Test yourself on Scale of 2D Shapes
The scale of the rectangle A to rectangle B is 1:6.
How long is side c?The scale of the rectangle A to rectangle B is 1:4.
How long is side c?The scale of the rectangle A to rectangle B is 5:3.
How long is side c?The scale of the rectangle A to rectangle B is 3:2.
How long is side c?