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How to Dilate a Square

A square is a polygon that has four equal sides and four angles that all equal 90 degrees. If you dilate a geometric figure, it means that you increase the size of that figure by a specific factor, which is referred to as a "scale" factor. You may have to dilate a square if you take a high school or college geometry class. It also is helpful to know how to dilate a square if you are trying to create a sketch of a larger proportion.

Things You'll Need

  • Ruler
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Instructions

    • 1

      Write down the length of one of the square's sides. If you must, measure the side with a ruler to find out its length.

    • 2

      Select a scale factor. For instance, if you want to create a square that is five times as large as the original square, then your scale factor would be 5.

    • 3

      Multiply the scale factor times the length of a leg to find the new length of each leg. For example, if the original square has a leg with a length of 2 inches, you would multiply 2 times 5 to get 10 inches as the length of all four legs for the new square.

    • 4

      Draw the new square using a ruler if required. The angles will still be the same, since square by definition have four 90-degree angles. The legs will each be the length that you calculated in Step 3.

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