Bearings and scale drawings: a map to the village
Draw the way from your school to a village on a map. Change the scale, the length on the map and the bearing, and find the real distance and direction.
Core concept
A bearing is a direction measured clockwise from north, written with three figures (045°); on a scale drawing, real distance = distance on the map × the scale
Topic: Bearing and scale drawing
Pilots, trekkers and map makers give directions as bearings. A bearing is the angle: The amount of turn between two lines that meet, measured in degrees (°). All key words turned clockwise from north, always written with three figures: north is 000°, east is 090°, south is 180°, west is 270°, and north-east is 045°. A map is a scale drawing: everything is drawn smaller by the same amount. The scale tells how much smaller, for example 1 cm = 2 km. To find a real distance, measure it on the map and multiply by the scale: 4 cm on the map is 4 × 2 = 8 km on the ground.
What you will learn
- Give a direction as a three-figure bearing.
- Use a scale to find real distances from a map.
- Draw a simple scale drawing using a bearing and a distance.
Before you start
- Know the eight compass directions and how to measure angles.
Materials
- A map of your district or Nepal
Equipment
- A protractor, a ruler and a compass
Procedure
- Record 4 cm on the map at 1 cm = 2 km, bearing 045°.
- Change the scale to 1 cm = 5 km and record.
- Record the village due east (090°) and due south-west (225°).
How this simulation is simplified
- The ground is flat, and north is at the top of the map.