GEO Unit 1 Study Guide

Why might a map projection make a continent look stretched or squished?

• To distort shapes of other continents

• To change distances and relative sizes of countries and continents

• To make a map perfectly accurate in every detail

• To keep the physical area of a country exact

In geography, “scale” means:

• How far something spreads over an area

• Height difference between two points

• The link between distance on a map and distance in real life

• The ratio of largest to smallest areas on a map

Distortion is worst on:

• Globes

• Small-scale maps

• Large-scale maps

• Topographic maps

In mapmaking, which thing is NOT distorted when the globe is flattened?

• Shape

• Area

• Distance

• Relative location

The ratio between map distance and real distance is called:

• Chart

• Scale

• Contour

• Projection

Maps that keep the size of landforms correct are:

• Conformal

• Equidistant

• Equal-area

• Azimuthal

Map with colors showing values across areas is a:

• Dot map

• Choropleth map

• Proportional symbol map

• Isoline map

Smallest map scale is:

• Atlanta, Georgia

• Pennsylvania

• South America

Every map projection has some degree of distortion because

• a. a curved surface cannot be represented on a flat surface without distortion

• b. parallels and meridians never cross at right angles on a globe

• c. the grid system is two-dimensional, while the real world is three-dimensional

• d. Earth is not a perfect sphere

The following dot-density map is a

• Reference Map

• Thematic Map

• Dramatic Map

• Artistic Map