the scale factor on a map is 1 : 500 000

2 towns are 8cm apart on the map.

work out the actual distance between the 2 towns.
give your answer in kilometres.

1:500,000 = 8 : 8*500,000 = 8:4,000,000

4,000,000 cm = 40 km

To work out the actual distance between the two towns, we need to use the scale factor provided on the map, which states that 1 cm on the map represents 500,000 cm in reality.

First, we need to convert the 8 cm distance on the map to the equivalent measurement in reality. We can do this by multiplying the 8 cm by the scale factor:

8 cm * 500,000 cm = 4,000,000 cm

Next, we need to convert the distance from centimeters to kilometers. Since there are 100,000 centimeters in a kilometer, we divide the distance in centimeters by 100,000:

4,000,000 cm / 100,000 = 40 km

Therefore, the actual distance between the two towns is 40 kilometers.