Scale factor

(engineering) The factor by which the reading of an instrument or the solution of a problem should be multiplied to give the true final value when a corresponding scale factor is used initially to bring the magnitude within the range of the instrument or computer.

A scale factor is a number which scales, or multiplies, some quantity. In the equation y=Cx, C is the scale factor for x. C is also the coefficient of x, and may be called the constant of proportionality of y to x. For example, doubling distances corresponds to a scale factor of 2 for distance, while cutting a cake in half results in pieces with a scale factor of ½.

See also

• Scale (ratio)
• Scale (map)
• Scales of scale models
• Scaling (geometry)
• Scalar (mathematics)
• Scaling in gravity
• Scaling in statistical estimation
• Scale factor (Universe)

This mathematics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)