Ch 02: Check Your Understanding

You work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and have been assigned to a project where you will assess potential damage caused by hurricane storm surge in a low-lying coastal area. You will need to analyze multiple map layers on elevation, population density, property values and storm sewers. What tool would be of most value to you in your analysis? a. GIS b. GPS c. LIDAR d. DEM

a. GIS

Which type of projection is well-suited for a map of a polar region (such as Antarctica)? a. planar b. conic c. Mercator d. interrupted

a. planar

You are attempting to map severe weather in a tropical region that has heavy, dense cloud cover. Which wavelength would you use when collecting your data if you had a satellite to engage in remote sensing? a. radar b. thermal infrared c. GIS d. sonar

a. radar

A straight line drawn anywhere on a Mercator projection is a line of true compass direction, called a ______ line. a. rhumb b. azimuthal c. conic d. meridian

a. rhumb

Your map has the following verbal scale - "one inch equals two miles." What would be the representative fraction of this map? a. 1/200 b. 1/63,360 c. 1/2 d. 1/126,720

d. 1/126,720

Which statement is correct regarding a Mercator projection of the entire world? a. A Mercator projection will have a smaller map scale than a Robinson projection. b. A Mercator projection is a common form of azimuthal projection. c. A Mercator projection has very little distortion in polar latitudes, but great distortion in tropical latitudes. d. Latitude and longitude lines always intersect at right angles on a Mercator projection.

d. Latitude and longitude lines always intersect at right angles on a Mercator projection.

The prime meridian is a feature of which of the following? a. latitude b. map scale c. elevation d. longitude

d. longitude

Which type of resolution refers to the size of the area imaged by each pixel, as in a digital image? a. color b. thermal c. GPS d. spatial

d. spatial

All of the following involves the expertise of a cartographer except: a. choosing which projection to use of a map of China. b. collecting data by hand at an archaeological site so that it can be mapped. c. creating a paper reference map for a local community center of nearby walking trails. d. creating a digital web map of known COVID-19 cases in Chicago.

b. collecting data by hand at an archaeological site so that it can be mapped.

A large scale map: a. covers a very large surface area (such as a continent, like Africa or South America). b. covers a small area (such as a city neighborhood) but has excellent detail. c. has poor detail compared to a small scale map because it is so big. d. has excellent detail because the physical size of the map is so large.

b. covers a small area (such as a city neighborhood) but has excellent detail)

Latitude lines: a. always form a great circle. b. measure angular distances north and south of the Equator. c. measure east-west surface distances from the prime meridian. d. converge at the poles.

b. measure angular distances North and South of the Equator

Which of the following set of coordinates is the only one that could be Los Angeles? a. 34°S, 118°W b. 34°S, 118°E c. 34°N, 118°W d. 34°N, 118°E

c. 34°N, 118°W

You have a topographic map with a contour interval of 5 feet. You trace a path which goes continuously uphill and the path includes fifteen different contour lines. How much elevation have you gained? a. 15 feet b. 5 feet c. 75 feet d. 3 feet

c. 75 feet

Which of the following is NOT an expression of map scale? a. verbal scale b. graphic scale (bar scale) c. decimal scale d. representative fraction (RF)

c. decimal scale

An imaginary circle drawn in any direction on Earth's surface and whose plane passes through the center of Earth is a: a. large circle. b. great ellipse. c. great circle. d. small circle.

c. great circle