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Maps with Scale, Compass and Grid References

Maths · Stage 3
Year 5
Lesson Guide
Explanation
A grid reference names a square on the map, and the order is the letter along the top first, then the number down the side. The canteen in column B and row two is at B two; the library in column D and row one is at D one. If a map labels only one square, you can name any other by counting across and down from it. And a grid reference is not the same as a coordinate pair, because it picks out a whole square rather than a single point.
Your Turn
A building sits in column A, row 4. What is its grid reference? Check: A4.
Watch Out
Letter first, then number. Writing 2B instead of B2 is the standard slip.
Explanation
North is up the map, south is down, east is right and west is left, with north-east and the rest lying between them. North to east is a quarter turn, ninety degrees, and north to south is a half turn. Moving east means moving right across the letters, and moving north means moving up the page — which means the row number gets smaller. From B three, one square north is B two. That catch is worth saying twice.
Your Turn
From C3, which square is one square north? Check: C2.
Watch Out
Going north makes the row number SMALLER, because row 1 is at the top.
Explanation
A scale says what one unit on the map stands for. Going from the map to the real world you multiply, and coming back you divide. With one centimetre standing for fifty metres, a path drawn six centimetres long is really three hundred metres, and a road four hundred metres long is drawn eight centimetres. Check at the end that the real distance came out bigger than the drawn one.
Your Turn
On a 1 cm = 50 m map, how long is a path drawn 7 cm? Check: 350 m.
Watch Out
Answer in the unit asked for. 300 m is not 300 cm, and it is not 3 km.
Explanation
Most map questions want a distance and a direction together. With the school at B three and the park at E two, the trip is three squares east and one square north; if each square is a hundred metres across, that is three hundred metres east and a hundred metres north. Give both parts unless the question narrows it — asking how far east wants only the east part of the journey.
Your Turn
Each square is 100 m. How far east is E2 from B3? Check: 3 squares, so 300 m.
Watch Out
Count the squares BETWEEN, not the squares landed on. B to E is 3 steps, not 4.
Explanation
Four habits finish the chapter: read the letter before the number, remember north is up the map, multiply to go from the map to the real world, and count the gaps between squares rather than the squares themselves. Get those right and every map question is a short piece of arithmetic on top. Quiz and exercises now.
Your Turn
A map square is 100 m. How far is it from B3 to E3? Check: 3 squares east, 300 m.
Watch Out
Read which the question wants: the reference, the direction, or the distance.
📌 Key Points — this lesson in a nutshell
  • A grid reference names a square: the letter across the top first, then the number down the side. B3 is column B, row 3.
  • The compass runs N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW. North is up the map, east is to the right.
  • A scale says what one unit on the map stands for. Map → real: multiply. Real → map: divide.
  • Given one labelled square you can work out any other by counting across and down.
Step 1: Introduction
Step 1 of 5
The canteen is at B2 ABCDE1234CLG letter first, then number C (canteen) is in column B, row 2 → B2 L (library) is in column D, row 1 → D1 G (gym) is in column A, row 4 → A4 a reference names a whole square Read the letter along the top first, then the number down the side. If only one square is labelled, count across and down from it to name any other. A grid reference is not a coordinate pair: it names a square on the map, not a single point.
North is up the map NSEWNENWSESW N up · S down · E right · W left NE is between north and east, and so on N to E is a quarter turn: 90° N to S is a half turn: 180° Moving east means moving right across the letters; moving north means moving UP the numbers. So from B3, one square north is B2 — the row number goes DOWN as you go north. That catch is worth saying twice: north is up the page, and up the page means a smaller row number.
1 cm on the map stands for 50 m 1 cm = 50 m 6 cm on the map× 50300 m 400 m real÷ 508 cm Map to real: MULTIPLY by the scale. Real to map: DIVIDE by it. A path drawn 6 cm long is really 300 m. A road 400 m long is drawn 8 cm. Check the size at the end: the real distance must come out bigger than the drawn one.
From the school to the park ABCDEF1234SP NSEWNENWSESW The school is at B3 and the park at E2: 3 squares east and 1 square north. If each square is 100 m across, that is 300 m east and 100 m north. Give both parts: how far, and which way. A question asking "how far east" wants only the east part.
Reading the question Canteen at B2. The library, 2 across and 1 up?D1 Which way is up the map?north 1 cm = 50 m. A path drawn 6 cm is really?300 m Squares are 100 m. B3 to E2 is how far east?300 m Letter then number · north is up · multiply to go from map to real. And count the gaps between squares, never the squares themselves. Quiz and exercises now.
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