Understanding what scale notation means (e.g., 1:100 means 1 cm on the drawing represents 100 cm in real life).
Where your child meets this in real life: Understanding map scales, model kit scales, or architect drawings
Each SEAG paper has 28 maths questions. Questions 29 to 50 are multiple choice with five possible answers, and questions 51 to 56 need a short written answer. With 56 questions in 60 minutes across English and maths, that is about a minute per question.
SEAGReady breaks understand scale notation into 2 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Understand what scale notation 1:n means and identify what each number represents
Building block, not tested on its own
Understand that the drawing is smaller than real life and compare different scales
Try three free questions from our understand scale notation course. They start easy and get harder, so you can see where your child's confidence runs out. If they manage the last one without a hint, this topic is probably secure. If not, the steps above show where to start.
The garden-map information is shown. How long is the path in real life?
An architect has the two floor plans shown for the same rooms. Which labelled scale shows the rooms as larger drawings?
A model shop sells the three versions shown of the same aeroplane. Put the labelled scales in order from largest model to smallest model.
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Ellie is looking at a simple plan of a school garden. The plan has a scale of 1:200.
If a path is 1 cm long on the plan, how many cm is it in real life?
1:200
The first number (1) represents the drawing
Step 1 of 4
Ellie is looking at a simple plan of a school garden. The plan has a scale of 1:200.
If a path is 1 cm long on the plan, how many cm is it in real life?
The path is 200 cm in real life.
The key insight: In a scale like 1:200, the first number is the drawing and the second is real life when both use the same unit.
Common mix-up: Thinking 1:200 means the drawing is 200 times as long as real life. The drawing is one two-hundredth of the real length.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in understand scale notation, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
Sitting the SEAG test this November? Read our last-month revision plan, Paper 1 vs Paper 2 and test day guide.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.
Free to start · no card needed