Calculating+vertical+exaggeration

When a cross section is drawn, the shape of the land is often exaggerated to make smalller changes in the land clearer. To gain an accurate idea of the shape of the land we need to calculate the vertical exaggeration. The formula for vertical exaggeration is Vertical exaggeration = vertical scale (VS) over Horizontal scale (HS) or VE=VS over HS.

example

VE=1cm reps 100m over 1cm reps 1km - covert the numerator and the denominator to the same unit of measurement.

= 1 over 100 over 1 over 1000 =1 over 100 times 10000 over 1 =10000 over 100 =100 VE=100

Better Example: :D

1cm represents 100m

First, convert to the same unit of measurement (cm)

1 : 10 000

VE = VS/HS = 10000/1 x 1/100 = 10000/100 = 100

therefore VE is 100x