Question

Some items in a catalog are drawn in scale at a ratio of 1:8 cm. If a scale drawing of one of these items is 6 cm wide, how wide is the actual item?

Answer 1

You know that 1 cm in the drawing is 8 cm wide in actuality, so you know the ratio
1/8 =6/x, where x is the width of the actual item. Does that make sense?

Answer 2

I'm using the ratio of
\[drawing \ size \over actual \ size\]