Scale or scales may refer to:

Mathematics

* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points *

Scale (ratio) The scale ratio of a model represents the proportional ratio of a linear dimension of the model to the same feature of the original. Examples include a 3-dimensional scale model of a building or the scale drawings of the elevations or plans of a ...

, the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number which scales, or multiplies, some quantity *

Long and short scales The long and short scales are two of several naming systems for integer power of 10, powers of ten which use some of the same terms for different magnitudes. For whole numbers smaller than 1,000,000,000 (109), such as one thousand or one m ...

, how powers of ten are named and grouped in large numbers *

Scale parameter In probability theory and statistics, a scale parameter is a special kind of numerical parameter of a parametric family of probability distributions. The larger the scale parameter, the more spread out the distribution. Definition If a family o ...

, a description of the spread or dispersion of a probability distribution *

Feature scaling Feature scaling is a method used to normalize the range of independent variables or features of data. In data processing, it is also known as data normalization and is generally performed during the data preprocessing step. Motivation Since th ...

, a method used to normalize the range of independent variables or features of data * Scale (analytical tool)

Measurements

Scale (map) The scale of a map is the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground. This simple concept is complicated by the curvature of the Earth's surface, which forces scale to vary across a map. Because of this variatio ...

, the ratio of the distance on a map to the corresponding actual distance *

Weighing scale A scale or balance is a device used to measure weight or mass. These are also known as mass scales, weight scales, mass balances, and weight balances. The traditional scale consists of two plates or bowls suspended at equal distances from ...

, an instrument used to measure mass *

, the ratio of the linear dimension of the model to the same dimension of the original *

Spatial scale Spatial scale is a specific application of the term scale for describing or categorizing (e.g. into orders of magnitude) the size of a space (hence ''spatial''), or the extent of it at which a phenomenon or process occurs. For instance, in phy ...

, a classification of sizes * Scale ruler, a tool for measuring lengths and transferring measurements at a fixed ratio of length * Vernier scale, the scale on calipers

Music

Scale (music) In music theory, a scale is any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch. A scale ordered by increasing pitch is an ascending scale, and a scale ordered by decreasing pitch is a descending scale. Often, especially in t ...

, a sequence of ordered musical notes *

Scale (string instruments) The scale length of a string instrument is the maximum vibrating length of the strings that produce sound, and determines the range of tones that string can produce at a given tension. It is also called string length. On instruments in which str ...

, the sounding length of the strings of an instrument * ''Scale'' (album), a 2006 album by electronic artist Matthew Herbert * "The Scale", a song from '' Our Love to Admire'' by Interpol * Musicians scale, the pay scale set by unions of musicians

Science

Biology

Scale (anatomy) In most biological nomenclature, a scale ( grc, λεπίς, lepís; la, squāma) is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran (butterfly and moth) species, scales are plates on the surfac ...

, a rigid plate which grows out of the skin of various animals * Scale (dermatology), a secondary skin lesion in humans that resembles animal scales * Scale (insect anatomy), a feature of the wings of moths and butterflies * Scale, a type of

trichome Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a pl ...

, any flat epidermal outgrowth in botany *

Bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs du ...

scale, the storage layers of a plant bulb *

Scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than th ...

, a waxy coated animal that resembles a fish scale

Chemistry and materials science

Fouling Fouling is the accumulation of unwanted material on solid surfaces. The fouling materials can consist of either living organisms ( biofouling) or a non-living substance (inorganic or organic). Fouling is usually distinguished from other sur ...

, sometimes called , a buildup of unwanted substances on a submerged surface * Limescale, a hard, chalky deposit that often builds up inside kettles, hot water boilers, and pipework *

Mill scale Mill scale, often shortened to just scale, is the flaky surface of hot rolled steel, consisting of the mixed iron oxides iron(II) oxide (FeO), iron(III) oxide (), and iron(II,III) oxide (, magnetite). Mill scale is formed on the outer surfa ...

, the flaky surface on hot rolled steel, consisting of iron oxides * Scale (chemistry), the range of mass or volume of a chemical reaction or process

Other sciences

* Scale (analytical tool), a concept in the study of complex systems and hierarchy theory * Scale (social sciences), a tool for ordering entities by quantitative attributes

Places

Scales, California Scales is an unincorporated community in Sierra County, California, in the United States. References Unincorporated communities in Sierra County, California Unincorporated communities in California {{SierraCountyCA-geo-stub ...

, a community in the United States * Scales, Lancashire, part of the village of Newton-with-Scales *

Scales, near Kirkoswald Kirkoswald is a village, civil parish, and former market town located in the Lower Eden Valley of Cumbria, England, formerly in Cumberland, about from Penrith. The village, referred to colloquially as KO, had a population of 870 at the 2001 ...

, Cumbria, a hamlet * Scales, South Lakeland, Cumbria, England, a village * ''The Scales'', the initial climb of the Chilkoot Pass

Other uses

Scales (surname) The surname Scales has more than one possible origin. In some cases, the surname may originate from a name for someone who lived near huts or sheds. In such cases, the surname is derived from the Middle English ''scale'', ''schole'', ''scole'', m ...

* ''Scales'' (film), a 2019 Saudi Arabian film *

Baron Scales Baron Scales is a title in the Peerage of England. Origin Robert de Scales The ancestors of the Baron Scales came into possession of the manors of Newsells, Hertfordshire and Rivenhall, Essex in 1255 by the marriage of Sir Robert de Scales to A ...

, a title in the Peerage of England * Libra (constellation), also known as "the scales", or the namesake astrological sign * '' Mizan'' (''Scale'' in English), a treatise on Islam by Javed Ahmed Ghamidi * Pay scale, a system or structure of compensation for work *

Scale armour Scale armour (or scale mail) is an early form of armour consisting of many individual small armour scales (plates) of various shapes attached to each other and to a backing of cloth or leather in overlapping rows.Southern California Linux Expo, an open-source software conference held in Los Angeles, California