Do you see a pattern in these problems? When you try to figure out how many 1/2 inches are in 3 and 1/2 inches, each inch has two 1/2 inches. So your solution could be written like this:
3 ½ inches = (6 x ½ inch) + ½ inch = 7 ½-inches in 3 ½ inches
And here’s how you’d use this pattern to find out how many 1/8 inches are in 2 and 5/8 inches:
2 5/8 inches = (16 x 1/8 inch) + 5/8 inch = 16/8 + 5/8 = 21 1/8-inches in 2 and 5/8 inches.
A scale of 1/8 inch to 1 foot is the same as 1/8 inch to 12 inches. You also could write this ratio as 1:96. For every 1 inch in the model, there are 96 inches or 8 feet in the original.
Use this information to answer the following question: If a model of a building in a 1/8 inch to 1 foot scale is 2 5/8 inches, how tall is the real building?