The scale of the map is given as 1 : 50,000, which means that 1 cm on the map represents 50,000 cm in real life.

The map shows the road length as 8.5 cm. To find the real-life distance, we can set up the following calculation:

1. Convert map measurement to real-life measurement: $\text{Real length} = \text{Map length} \times \text{Scale factor}$ Substituting in the values: $\text{Real length} = 8.5 \, \text{cm} \times 50,000 = 425,000 \, \text{cm}$

2. Convert centimeters to kilometers: Since 1 kilometer is 100,000 cm: $\text{Real length in km} = \frac{425,000 \, \text{cm}}{100,000} = 4.25 \, \text{km}$

Answer:

The length of the real road is 4.25 kilometers.

Would you like more details on any of the steps? Here are some related questions:

1. How do we handle different map scales when converting distances?
2. What if the scale were 1:100,000 instead of 1:50,000?
3. How can we convert measurements to other units, like miles?
4. What is the importance of understanding scales in real-life applications?
5. How do we calculate area on a map with a specific scale?

Tip: Always double-check units when converting, as small errors can lead to large inaccuracies in real-world distances.