The Smiths want to buy a 9 ft. by 12 ft. carpet and center it in a 15 ft. by 20 ft. room.

Which of the following would be an appropriate scale to use on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper for a sketch of the room and carpet?

1 inch = 1 foot

1 inches = 1 foot

1/2 inch = 1 foot

2 inches = 1 foot,

The room scale will only fit on an 8 1/2" X 11" page if 1/2 iinch = 1 foot is used. If we take the largest measurement 15 X 20 ... the 15 would hang over the edge of the paper no matter which way we turn it. With the 1/2" we can get 17 feet on the 8 1/2 side and and 22 on the 11" side.

1/2 inch = 1 foot is the correct answer

1 inch = 1 foot is the answer. The appropriate scale to use on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper for a sketch of the room and carpet is 1 inch = 1 foot. The other choices are incorrect because it is not possible for 1/2 inch = 1 foot and it is grammatically wrong when we say 1 inches = 1 foot.