Question

brody is planning to drive from city x to city y. the scale drawing below shows the distance between the two cities with a scale of 1/2 inch = 8 miles.
city x ●————————————————————————————● city y
3 in.
what is the actual distance between the two cities?

Explanation:

Step1: Set up proportion

Let $x$ be the actual distance. The proportion is $\frac{\frac{1}{2}}{8}=\frac{3}{x}$.

Step2: Cross - multiply

$\frac{1}{2}x = 8\times3$.

Step3: Simplify right - hand side

$\frac{1}{2}x=24$.

Step4: Solve for $x$

Multiply both sides by 2, so $x = 48$.

Answer:

48 miles