What is Scale?

scale

Scale is a term used to describe the relationship between two things. It can be used in art, architecture, and even astronomy.

In music, scales are a tonal basis that can be used to create various melodies and harmonies. They also help to create different moods and atmospheres.

Definition

Scale is a system of numbers or levels that are used as a reference standard in measurement. It may have equal intervals or be arranged as a geometric progression.

In music, scales can be found in cultures across the world. Typical scales consist of one or two intervals (two or three pitches).

These scales are used to form musical passages in which each pitch is attached to a certain note value, either primary or secondary. These basic interval patterns are often called grama in India, dastgah in Iran, and maqam in Muslim cultures.

The scale development process is important to establish the validity and reliability of new scales. This process consists of the development of a set of items, the use of psychometric techniques and a review by experts and members of the target population.

Purpose

Scale is a ratio that represents the relationship between the size of a model (blueprint) and the corresponding size of an object in real life. It helps in reducing the size of a site, space, building or detail to make it more practical.

There are several different types of scales that are commonly used on maps. They include written or verbal scale, a graphic scale, and a fractional scale.

A graphic scale is a bar marked off like a ruler with labels to indicate the distances it represents. This type of scale is particularly useful because it remains true when the map is enlarged or shrunk.

Types

In Statistics, there are four different types of scales used to measure variables. These include nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales.

Nominal scales are the lowest level of measurement. They deal with non-numeric values or variables such as height, class ranking, gender and qualification.

Interval scales provide more information about the differences between variables, but they lack a true zero point. Consider the temperature scale: 0 degF and 0 degC do not indicate an absence of temperature, but they are equivalent to the difference between 30 degrees and 40 degrees.

In contrast, ratio scales have a true zero point and represent an absolute difference between the values. This makes them useful for determining the relationship between two variables. However, they may not be appropriate for all data analysis tasks.

Measurement

A scale is a yardstick that is used to assign values or symbols to phenomena. Scales have a number of properties, including identity, magnitude, and ordered relationships.

Nominal: This is the coldest level of measurement and often known as the categorical scale, which assigns numbers to attributes for easy identity. This type of data can be analyzed in percentage or frequency counts, but cannot be used for quantitative statistical analysis.

Ordinal: This is the next step up from nominal, and it shows meaningful divisions between variables. This type of data can be analyzed with bar charts and pie charts.

Interval: This is a step higher than ordinal, and it shows the order of a variable but also the degree of difference between any two values. This type of data can be analyzed like ordinal but with interval values from low to high.

Ratio: This is the highest level of measurement and it takes on all the properties of interval but adds a zero point, which indicates complete absence of the characteristic being measured. This is commonly used in the physical sciences to measure mass, length, duration, plane angle, energy, and electric charge.