Question

I need help understanding how to do scale factor?

Answer 1

it depends on what you dont get

say forinstance you have 2 two-dimensional boxes

A: length 5cm, width 8cm
B: length 10cm, width 16cm

scale factor is some constant number of proportionality that relates two numbers, or in this case, two figures.

if you are wanting to consider the constant from A to B then the constant C=2.
why? because the proportion of length B to length A is 2, and similar for the width.
if you are wanting B to A, then C=1/2 for the same reasons as above

Answer 2

i just realized that that is a little confusing...let me clarify.

the constant, or scale factor of box A to box B is basically a number that if you scale box A to, you would end up with B. think of it like stretching and expanding the box to fit the other, or compressing and shrinking one to fit the other.

in that way, the scale factor of A to B (that is, to get A to be just like B) is 2 because they are proportional in all dimensions.
similarly, the scale factor of B to A (to fit B to A) is 1/2.