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Year 7 · Geography · Map skills for secondary · Lesson 2

Scale, distance and direction

Using map scales (1:50,000 and 1:25,000) to calculate real distances, measuring curved routes, and using the 8-point compass.

Whiteboard video lesson: Scale, distance and direction

19-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

Watch free for a month

What your child will learn

  • Explain map scale
  • Calculate real distances
  • Measure curved routes
  • Use 8 compass directions

The method

  1. Measure.
  2. Scale.
  3. Multiply.
  4. km.

Key words: scale, scale bar, distance, compass, north-east, Ordnance Survey.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

What does a scale show?

  1. Step 1: Real

Answer: how map distance relates to real distance

Question 2

On 1:50,000, what does 1 cm represent?

  1. Step 1: 500 m

Answer: 500 m

Question 3

On 1:50,000, how many cm is 1 km?

  1. Step 1: 2

Answer: 2 cm