Compare Lengths at Scales
Comparison, what a length on a map and in reality means, depending on the scale. Up to five scales and distances can be compared for one length on a map. Some default scales are already preset, these can be changed or deleted. Please enter a length on a map, for every scale a distance will be calculated. Or, if a distance is given and no scale, then the scale will be calculated. The units can be either metric or Anglo-American.
Examples: At a scale of one to five thousand, six centimeters on a map correspond to a distance of 300 meters. At a scale of one to two hundred thousand, they correspond to a distance of 12 kilometers.
Or you might be traveling in the USA and have a map with the scale one to two hundred thousand. In this case, 3 inches on the map corresponds to approximately 9.5 miles in reality.
The scale indicates the ratio of lengths on a map to lengths in reality. For example, at a scale of one to one thousand, one centimeter on such a map would correspond to 1000 centimeters, or 10 meters, in reality. At one to one hundred thousand, or one hundred times the scale, the actual length is also one hundred times that. This is 1000 meters, or one kilometer. The advantage of such ratios, which begin with a 1, is that they are easier to calculate mentally and therefore more intuitive. Ultimately, however, the scale is determined by what the map is intended to represent and how much space is available for it.
Scales where the larger value doesn't end with multiple zeros are unusual, but possible. Scales that don't begin with 1: are also conceivable. To work with these here, they must be converted; any pocket calculator can do this. For example, with a scale of 2:10000, the larger value is calculated by dividing 10000 by 2, resulting in 1:5000.
Last updated on 10/29/2025. Author: Jürgen Kummer
Retrieved on 2026-07-16 from https://rechneronline.de/scale/comparison.php