Which scale is smaller: 1 cm per 35 km or 1 cm per 250 km?
To determine which scale is smaller between 1 cm per 35 km and 1 cm per 250 km, we need to compare the ratios of centimeters to kilometers.
Let's calculate the ratio for the first scale:
1 cm per 35 km
To compare these two quantities, we can take the reciprocal of the kilometers and multiply it by the centimeters:
(1 cm) / (35 km) = (1 cm) * (1 / 35 km) = 1/35 cm/km
Now, let's calculate the ratio for the second scale:
1 cm per 250 km
Similarly, we can take the reciprocal of the kilometers and multiply it by the centimeters:
(1 cm) / (250 km) = (1 cm) * (1 / 250 km) = 1/250 cm/km
Comparing the two ratios, we can see that 1 cm per 35 km is smaller than 1 cm per 250 km since 1/35 cm/km is a larger value than 1/250 cm/km. Therefore, the scale 1 cm per 35 km is smaller in terms of its representation of distance.