Worked examples
Two examples
Example 1
A practice map, drawn for this examplePractice map, made up for this example. The places are not real.
Using the scale bar, how far is it from Gale to Holt in a straight line?A. 3 milesB. 75 miles
C. 150 miles
D. 100 miles
- Read the scale bar first. It is labeled 0, 25, 50 miles. The whole bar stands for 50 miles; the 25 marks its middle.
- Now compare the bar with the grid. The bar is as long as two grid squares. So one square stands for 50 ÷ 2 = 25 miles.
- Gale and Holt are on the same grid line. Count the squares between them, the spaces and not the lines: 3.
- 3 squares × 25 miles = 75 miles. That is B.
- A, 3 miles, is the count of squares with the scale left out. C, 150 miles, reads each square as the whole bar, 50 miles. D, 100 miles, counts the four grid lines from Gale to Holt instead of the three squares between them.
Answer: B
Example 2
A practice map, drawn for this examplePractice map, made up for this example. The places are not real.
Using the scale bar, how far is it from Lark to Nash along the road?A. 50 milesB. 70 miles
C. 7 miles
D. 30 miles
- Read the scale bar: it is one grid square long and labeled 10 miles, so one square stands for 10 miles.
- The question says along the road. The road does not go straight from Lark to Nash. It runs east from Lark to Mead, then turns and runs north to Nash.
- Measure each piece. Lark to Mead: 3 squares, 30 miles. Mead to Nash: 4 squares, 40 miles. Add them: 30 + 40 = 70 miles. That is B.
- A, 50 miles, is the straight line from Lark to Nash. Lay the scale bar along that slanting line and it fits 5 times: 50 miles. It is shorter than the road, because a straight line is the shortest way between two places. It answers a different question.
- C, 7 miles, counts the squares and leaves out the scale. D, 30 miles, stops at Mead, the corner, partway there.
Answer: B
Where this is taught: Skills Quiz 3, Reading maps: First, the idea · Skills Quiz 3: the worked example · Skills Diagnostic, Part 3
In your Kaplan book: Unit 3, Chapter 1, Lesson 6: Interpret Data and Statistics · Map of the Terrain, topic 3: Reading maps
The drill
Ten questions
How many:
Read what is in the box first. Then tap your answer; a few questions ask you to choose words from a drop-down instead, the way the GED test does. Press Check my answers at the bottom.Read what is in the box first. Circle your answer; where there are brackets, circle the choice that fits. The answer key, with the reasoning, is on the last page.