Scale is the ratio between the actual distance on the ground and the distance shown on the map. For example, the distance between your school and your home is 10 km. If you show this 10 km. distance by 2 cm on a map, it means, 1 cm on the map will show 5 km. on the ground. The scale of your drawing will be 1cm = 5 km. Thus, scale is very important in any map.