Scales | Engineering Surveying
Scale is a fixed ratio that every distance on the plan bears with corresponding distance on the ground.
![Rulers bearing a certain specific scale for measurement Rulers bearing a certain specific scale for measurement](https://civilprojectsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Scales.jpg)
Scale can be represented by the following method
One centimetre on the plan represents some whole number of the metres on the ground.
1cm = 10m
This type of scale is called engineering scale.
1 unit of length on the plan represents some number of same units of length on the ground.
1/1000 etc…
This ratio of map distance to the corresponding ground distance independent of units of measurement is called Representative Factor (RF).
For example,
1cm = 50m
RF = 1/(50×100) = 1/5000
Above two types of scales are also known as numerical scales.