Geography Module 2 Assignment

What is the highest value a line of longitude will have?

180 degrees

Based on the evidence in the Shadow 3 placemark, what time of day was this image was captured?

8 a.m.

Which of the following scenarios is most likely to occur in an equivalent projection?

A landmass will be the same size on the map as on the globe, but its shape will be distorted.

Which of the following statements best characterizes the aspect of a map?

Aspect is the location of the center of a map projection.

If you wanted to provide a rough estimate of surface parking available within 500 meters of the Pepsi Center, noted by a placemark of the same name, which of the Denver placemarks would provide the best possible scale for your analysis?

Denver 4

Based on the data in the African Rain folder, which of the following locations had the highest rainfall on June 12, 2012?

Freetown, Sierra Leone

What is the range of detail that can be displayed in Google Earth?

Google Earth can display in scales ranging from the entire Earth down to street level.

This exercise has focused on how to properly use map scale to calculate real-world distances using map units. In this next section, you will explore each type of map scale (representative fraction, written scale, and graphic scale) in more depth to better understand how each one is used for distance measurements. Of the following scenarios, choose all that apply.

If a map has a written scale of "1 cm = 500 m," and you are using this map to plan a trip with a total distance of 22 cm on the map, then your total distance on the ground will be 11,000 m. If a map has a representative fraction of "1:64,000," and you are planning a hike that would total 7 inches on the map, then your hike will be 448,000 inches on the ground.

Map scales can also be small- or large-scale. Figure A4 shows an example of a small- and large-scale map. The map to the left is relatively small-scale and covers a larger area in less detail, while the map to the right is relatively large-scale and covers a smaller area in greater detail. This difference can be counterintuitive, so it can help to think that small-scale maps cover a large area but show small amounts of detail. And large-scale maps cover a small area so they show large amounts of detail. Which of the following statements about using a map scale to calculate distance is true?

If two maps are the same size, but one has a 1:100 scale and the other has a 1:100,000, the second one maps a larger area of Earth's surface.

How was Google Earth used to inform public opinion about atrocities committed in Darfur, Sudan?

Imagery in Google Earth showed villages that had been burned by Sudanese troops.

What is the significance of Greenwich, England, in the context of latitude and longitude?

It is the historically agreed-upon starting point for longitude.

You have learned a great deal about map scale and how to calculate distances, while briefly touching upon the difference between small and large-scale maps. Now you will investigate small and large-scale maps in greater detail to determine when each is necessary. Based on what you know about map scale, rank the following five scenarios where a map is needed to measure a distance.

Largest Scale to Smallest Scale: A new college student is lost on campus and uses a map on her smartphone to navigate from her dorm to a classroom. Tourists visiting Chicago need to figure out how to get from the airport to their hotel on the shore of Lake Michigan. A geologist is taking a trip across the United States, from California to Maine, to collect rock samples, and he creates a map of his route before leaving. A marine biologist is measuring the distance that bull sharks migrate from the coast of Brazil to the coast of the Mid-Atlantic United States. A climate scientist is particularly interested in how ocean currents transfer heat across the globe, and creates a map using satellite data to illustrate her findings. Background Image

Which of the following best describes latitude?

Latitude is used to measure distance north and south of the 0 degree line.

Which of the following statements about map projections is true?

Maps of the world and continents are impacted by distortion more than maps of local areas.

Which of the following locations on the Chief Mountain Quadrangle overlay has the steepest contour gradient?

North face of Yellow Mountain.

What is the starting location (0 degree location) used for lines of longitude?

Prime Meridian

Which of the following statements is best supported by the evidence at the Texture 3 placemark?

This landscape has significant variation in texture as a result of some agricultural activity.

How was Google Earth used as a tool by a tribe living in the Amazon rainforest?

Tribe members used Google Earth to help fight against encroachment from logging activities.

Which of the following statements best characterizes a map projection that maintains angular relations on a map?

When circles are projected onto such a map, their shape will be maintained but they will vary in size.

If you found it necessary to have an even smaller scale perspective of Denver than is provided in the Denver 1 through Denver 5 placemarks, which of the following actions would you perform?

Zoom out from the Denver 1 placemark.

What is the feature seen at the Association 3 placemark?

a combo rail and highway bridge

What is the graticule?

a name given to the system of lines used to locate points on Earth's surface

If you wanted to determine the absolute size of the reservoir at the Size 3 placemark, what feature visible in the scene would be the best choice to use as your size reference?

a tennis court

Part complete What are the distinctive linear shapes seen at the Shape 3 placemark?

airport runways

Based on the evidence at the Site/Situation 3 placemark and the context of the image, what event has recently occurred at this location? Zoom in on the palace to help you ascertain the correct answer. You can use the image slider on the upper left corner of the Google Earth window. Zoom out and check the area to the north of the Presidential palace and check how this area has changed before, on and after January 2010. The structures that you see after 2010 are temporary structures.

an earthquake

How is Google able to map roads and display street-level imagery in Google Earth?

by driving cars equipped with special cameras along the streets

Which of the following projections is used for general-purpose world maps because it communicates a balanced representation of the world?

compromise projection

Which map projection class has longitude lines appearing as straight lines that diverge away from the North or South Pole and latitude lines appearing as arcs?

conic projection

Which map projection class has longitude lines appearing as straight, equally spaced parallel lines and latitude lines appearing as parallel lines that intersect the meridians at right angles?

cylindrical projection

Which of the following map projection qualities would be most appropriate for mapping the global distribution of air temperature?

general-purpose with a balanced view of oceans and landmasses, and uninterrupted perspective

The Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area projection __________.

has shapes that are considerably distorted away from the center of the map

Which map projection is torn, or cut, in order to reduce shape distortion in specific parts of the map?

interrupted projection

The Robinson projection __________.

is appropriate for mapping the distribution of phenomena found on both land and sea

The Goode's Interrupted Equal Area Homolosine projection __________.

is appropriate for mapping the geographic distributions on the continents

Which map projection class has longitude lines appearing as lines radiating from a central point and latitude lines appearing as concentric circles or ovals?

planar projection

Which map projection class has longitude lines that curve in and converge, or nearly converge, at the poles and latitude lines appearing as parallel lines?

pseudocylindrical/oval projection

What are the buildings that are indicated by the Pattern 3 placemarks?

schools

Classes of map projections are based on the __________.

shape of the projection surface

Of Earth's spatial relationships, which characteristic is preserved in an equivalent map projection?

size

Which two key properties of Earth's spatial relationships are considered when creating a map projection?

size and shape

Based on the tone and/or color clues at the Tone/color 3 placemark, what is the most likely surface cover?

snow and ice