Introduction to Physical and Human
Geography D199 questions and answers.
What are maps used for? - ANSWER: - show an area larger than a person can see
- present information concisely, especially the features of most interest to the user
- demonstrate spatial relationships
- show things people cannot see directly, such as minerals below ground or records of
daily temperatures.
Reference map - ANSWER: - store data and show a variety of features for a variety of
uses.
- general storehouses of information
Thematic maps - ANSWER: - highlight specific themes
-goal is to focus the user's attention on specific features or characteristics
Literal maps - ANSWER: - show actual things and places
Figurative map - ANSWER: - show conceptual or imagined places
Analytical mapping - ANSWER: - used to explore the role of location and space to
answer questions
- Dr. John Snow, cholera outbreak
Geographical Information Science (GIS) - ANSWER: - use of computers in mapping.
- excels at bringing together many layers of data for a location and conducting a
sophisticated analysis.
,- allow investigators to store, manipulate, and analyze data on a large variety of
phenomena.
scale - ANSWER: - how map units relate to real-world units
Projections - ANSWER: - the methods and challenges around turning a three-
dimensional (and sort of lumpy) earth into a two-dimensional map.
Map scale - ANSWER: - measures how much the features of the world are reduced to
fit on a map; or more precisely, map scale shows the proportion of a given distance on a
map to the corresponding distance on the ground in the real world.
Representative Fraction - ANSWER: - map scale is shown as a ratio. With the
numerator always set to 1, the denominator represents how much greater the distance
is in the world.
Coordiantes - ANSWER: - Locations on the earth's surface are measured in
- Cartesian coordinate system, simplest system, named after René Descartes
Geographical Coordinate System - ANSWER: - designed specifically to define positions
on Earth's roughly spherical surface
Longitude - ANSWER: - east-west scale
- ranges from +180° to -180°.
International Date Line - ANSWER: - Because the earth is round, +180° (or 180° E) and
-180° (or 180° W) are the same grid line
Prime Meridian - ANSWER: - the line of longitude that passes through Greenwich, UK,
which is the starting point for counting the rest of the lines of longitude
- line of longitude defined as 0°
projections - ANSWER: - turning a three-dimensional globe into a two-dimensional map
- involves shearing, tearing, and compression
Graticule - ANSWER: - specifies positions on the globe with latitude and longitude
coordinates.
Conformal Projection - ANSWER: - preserve shape and angle, but strongly distort area
in the process.
- useful for navigation, topography (elevation), and weather maps
, equal area projection - ANSWER: - the size of any area on the map is in true proportion
to its size on the earth.
- countries' shapes may appear to be squished or stretched compared to what they look
like on a globe
- used for thematic data, especially in mapping density (an attribute over an area)
- EX: it would be useful in comparing the density of Syrian refugees in the Middle East
or the amount of cropland in production.
Equidistant projection - ANSWER: - preserve distance
- useful visualizing airplane flight paths from one city to several other cities or in
mapping an earthquake epicenter
- Azimuthal projections preserve distance at the cost of distorting shape and area to
some extent.
compromise, interrupted, and artistic projections - ANSWER: - instead of preserving
shape, area, or distance, they try to avoid extreme distortion of any of these properties
- useful for a general-purpose world map.
- Compromise projections preserve no one property but instead seek a compromise that
minimizes distortion of all kinds
- maps that have beauty as their main objective
Dot Density Map - ANSWER: -each dot represents a fixed quantity. For one-to-one dot
maps, each dot represents one object or person.
- EX: Dr. John Snow's famous map had one dot for each reported death from cholera
around the Broad Street pump
- useful for quickly visualizing patterns of clustering and density and do not require color
Proportional Symbol Map - ANSWER: - adjusts the size of simple symbols
proportionally to the data value found at that location.
- larger the symbol, the "more" of something exists
- used to represent data at precise locations (points) or data averaged over a
geographic area
Choropleth Map - ANSWER: - areas are shaded using hue or value to represent
different quantities.
Standardization - ANSWER: - in mapmaking, the process of defining the unit of
measurement so that it can be represented equivalently across a geographic area,
rather than be distorted by other characteristics, such as political boundaries
Geography D199 questions and answers.
What are maps used for? - ANSWER: - show an area larger than a person can see
- present information concisely, especially the features of most interest to the user
- demonstrate spatial relationships
- show things people cannot see directly, such as minerals below ground or records of
daily temperatures.
Reference map - ANSWER: - store data and show a variety of features for a variety of
uses.
- general storehouses of information
Thematic maps - ANSWER: - highlight specific themes
-goal is to focus the user's attention on specific features or characteristics
Literal maps - ANSWER: - show actual things and places
Figurative map - ANSWER: - show conceptual or imagined places
Analytical mapping - ANSWER: - used to explore the role of location and space to
answer questions
- Dr. John Snow, cholera outbreak
Geographical Information Science (GIS) - ANSWER: - use of computers in mapping.
- excels at bringing together many layers of data for a location and conducting a
sophisticated analysis.
,- allow investigators to store, manipulate, and analyze data on a large variety of
phenomena.
scale - ANSWER: - how map units relate to real-world units
Projections - ANSWER: - the methods and challenges around turning a three-
dimensional (and sort of lumpy) earth into a two-dimensional map.
Map scale - ANSWER: - measures how much the features of the world are reduced to
fit on a map; or more precisely, map scale shows the proportion of a given distance on a
map to the corresponding distance on the ground in the real world.
Representative Fraction - ANSWER: - map scale is shown as a ratio. With the
numerator always set to 1, the denominator represents how much greater the distance
is in the world.
Coordiantes - ANSWER: - Locations on the earth's surface are measured in
- Cartesian coordinate system, simplest system, named after René Descartes
Geographical Coordinate System - ANSWER: - designed specifically to define positions
on Earth's roughly spherical surface
Longitude - ANSWER: - east-west scale
- ranges from +180° to -180°.
International Date Line - ANSWER: - Because the earth is round, +180° (or 180° E) and
-180° (or 180° W) are the same grid line
Prime Meridian - ANSWER: - the line of longitude that passes through Greenwich, UK,
which is the starting point for counting the rest of the lines of longitude
- line of longitude defined as 0°
projections - ANSWER: - turning a three-dimensional globe into a two-dimensional map
- involves shearing, tearing, and compression
Graticule - ANSWER: - specifies positions on the globe with latitude and longitude
coordinates.
Conformal Projection - ANSWER: - preserve shape and angle, but strongly distort area
in the process.
- useful for navigation, topography (elevation), and weather maps
, equal area projection - ANSWER: - the size of any area on the map is in true proportion
to its size on the earth.
- countries' shapes may appear to be squished or stretched compared to what they look
like on a globe
- used for thematic data, especially in mapping density (an attribute over an area)
- EX: it would be useful in comparing the density of Syrian refugees in the Middle East
or the amount of cropland in production.
Equidistant projection - ANSWER: - preserve distance
- useful visualizing airplane flight paths from one city to several other cities or in
mapping an earthquake epicenter
- Azimuthal projections preserve distance at the cost of distorting shape and area to
some extent.
compromise, interrupted, and artistic projections - ANSWER: - instead of preserving
shape, area, or distance, they try to avoid extreme distortion of any of these properties
- useful for a general-purpose world map.
- Compromise projections preserve no one property but instead seek a compromise that
minimizes distortion of all kinds
- maps that have beauty as their main objective
Dot Density Map - ANSWER: -each dot represents a fixed quantity. For one-to-one dot
maps, each dot represents one object or person.
- EX: Dr. John Snow's famous map had one dot for each reported death from cholera
around the Broad Street pump
- useful for quickly visualizing patterns of clustering and density and do not require color
Proportional Symbol Map - ANSWER: - adjusts the size of simple symbols
proportionally to the data value found at that location.
- larger the symbol, the "more" of something exists
- used to represent data at precise locations (points) or data averaged over a
geographic area
Choropleth Map - ANSWER: - areas are shaded using hue or value to represent
different quantities.
Standardization - ANSWER: - in mapmaking, the process of defining the unit of
measurement so that it can be represented equivalently across a geographic area,
rather than be distorted by other characteristics, such as political boundaries
