On a map using a scale of 1:50,000, 2 centimeters on the map represents how many kilometers in reality?

On a map using a scale of 1:50,000, 2 centimeters on the map represents how many kilometers in reality?

• A. 0.5 km
• B. 1.0 km
• C. 2.0 km
• D. 5.0 km

Answer: (B)

Understanding map scales: a scale of 1:50,000 means that 1 unit on the map represents 50,000 of those units in reality. Using centimeters, 1 cm on the map equals 50,000 cm in real life, which is 500 meters (0.5 km). Therefore, 2 cm on the map equals 1,000 meters, or 1 km in reality. So the distance is 1.0 km. Other options would require 1 cm to represent 0.5 km, 4 cm to represent 2 km, or 10 cm to represent 5 km, which doesn’t match the given 2 cm.

Understanding map scales: a scale of 1:50,000 means that 1 unit on the map represents 50,000 of those units in reality. Using centimeters, 1 cm on the map equals 50,000 cm in real life, which is 500 meters (0.5 km). Therefore, 2 cm on the map equals 1,000 meters, or 1 km in reality. So the distance is 1.0 km. Other options would require 1 cm to represent 0.5 km, 4 cm to represent 2 km, or 10 cm to represent 5 km, which doesn’t match the given 2 cm.