In this KS2 maths article you’ll learn what a scale factor is and how to use them to describe how a shape has been made larger or smaller. We also have a KS2 maths quiz and lots of examples.

When a scale factor is a fraction the shape decreases in size, but we still call this an enlargement. So a scale factor of ¼ means that the new shape is 4 times smaller than the original.

With all software vying to be the ‘next big thing’, the need to keep the door open for expansive upward growth (while still operating successfully at a lower-scale factor) is the mark of ...