Geography - AP Human Geography

The “international dateline” is on the opposite side of the planet to prime meridian. Whereas prime meridian is found at 0’, the international dateline is found at 180’. The international dateline is the point where each day begins for the first time, it is found in the Pacific Ocean.

The Peters Projection map emerged from the belief by some geographers that the Mercator Projection distorts the relative size of each continent and therefore makes some continents (Europe, North America, Asia, Antarctica) look larger than they are and makes other continents (Africa, South America) look smaller than they are. Accordingly this apparently makes people think these shrunk continents are less significant that they actually are. The Peters Projection aims to fix this mindset, particularly with regard to Africa. As it is partially based on political considerations the Peters Projection is naturally controversial.

The “resolution” of a map refers to the smallest thing that can be recorded on the map. For example a map of the United States might only show cities with a population of five hundred thousand or more, so a city with a population of four hundred thousand would fall outside of the resolution of the map. The ratio between map distance and actual distance is known as the “scale.”

“Prime Meridian” is where lines of longitude begin. It also informs time zones, so whenever you see that the East Coast of America is , this means it is behind what is known as “Greenwich Mean Time.” Prime Meridian runs through Greenwich, in England. You might notice how when you look at a flat world map it looks like England is in the middle of the world, this is simply because at the time geography as a science really began to take off England and France were in control of the world and were therefore able to place themselves in the middle. England is, of course, not actually the center of the world.

The Fuller Projection emphasizes accurate representation of the relative size of Earth’s landmasses, but in so doing it distorts distance and compass direction heavily. Because of the difficulty of projecting a three-dimensional object (the Earth) onto a two-dimensional surface (a map) all maps must sacrifice one level of accuracy to emphasize another level.

The Ptolemy Projection and The Eratosthenes Projection are not actual map projections so neither of these could be correct answers. The Mercator Projection specifically emphasizes accurate direction, but in doing so distorts land size. The Peters Projection is an attempt to accurately reflect the land size of all continents equally, but in doing so it distorts distance and direction. The Robinson Projection is something of a compromise in that it attempts to minimize errors in distance, relative size, and compass direction but does not accurately depict any one of these factors wholly.

Geographers use a coordinate system to describe the location of any particular place on Earth. The coordinate system is made up of lines of longitude and lines of latitude. Lines of longitude—also called “meridians”—begin at the North Pole and make their way “up and down” the Earth to the South Pole. All lines of longitude eventually meet at the poles (i.e. time zones such as Eastern Standard Time or Greenwich Mean Time). On the other hand, lines of latitude make their way around the Earth and never intersect with each other; they are often also called “parallels” (i.e. the equator).

“Isolines” are used primarily in topographical maps. The topography of a region refers to its elevation and the changes in its elevation; therefore, isolines are used to demonstrate elevation.

A “cadastral map,” also known as a “cadastre,” is used to depict the value of land and property in a region. They are often used for the purpose of establishing land and property taxes.

“Choropleth” maps are maps that provide information using different shades and colors. So a map depicting population density might have regions colored red to demonstrate high density, orange to demonstrate medium density, and yellow to demonstrate low density.

The “Azimuthal” map projection depicts the Earth as centered around either the North or South Pole -most commonly an “Azimuthal” projection will be centered on the North Pole. The projection is used by the United Nations because it can categorically be described as unbiased towards any one nation or region.

A thematic map displays a unified information scheme. This map can give the viewer varying types of information such as religious affiliation or population age.

The term for a basic map is a reference map. This is the most common type of map and the type most people are familiar with.

Lines of latitude measure the distance North or South of the Equator and run East-West on a globe or map.

The global grid consists of north and south poles, latitude lines or parallels, the equator, longitude lines or meridians, the prime meridian, and the international date line.

A thematic map is a type of map that is designed to show a theme connected with a specific geographic area. For example, a thematic map may serve to convey population growth disparities across U.S. states.

The Mercator Projection, designed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, became the standard map projection used for nautical purposes because it correctly represents true direction everywhere on earth on a two-dimensional plane. It is a conformal map projection, which properly shows all lines of longitude and latitude on a grid plane with correct 90 degree angle crossing points throughout the map.

The Robinson Projection was created by Arthur Robinson, coming late to the map-making game in 1963. Robinson's projection is not an equal-area projection or a conformal projection, but rather is a combination of both. Robinson's projection shows the entire earth and distorts both shape and size slightly to make the two-dimensional representation look the most like the three-dimensional reality of the earth. Robinson's projection, though losing true shape, size, and direction, is the most widely used projection today.

The Conic Projection is not a specific projection, but rather is any map projection which equally spaces meridians radiating out from whatever the apex of the map is. Meanwhile, lines of latitudes (parallels) are mapped as circular arcs centered on the map's apex. Most commonly, the apex of conic map projections is the center of the north or south pole. This projection type is most often used to more accurately map the north or south pole.

The True Map Projection is not a map projection, it is a made-up term for the purposes of this quiz.

The Mollweide Projection was developed by Carl Mollweide in 1805. This map projection is a equal-area and pseudo-cylindrical representation of the earth. Instead of showing accuracy of angle in lines of latitude and longitude, or accuracy of shape, it distorts both of those factors in order to show accuracy of size in area throughout the entire world. It is only on this map projection that one can see the true size of the continents in relation to each other. On all other map projections, the continent of Africa looks much smaller than it actually is, distorting the size and often the shape as well. But with this map projection, the shape might be slightly skewed in order to gain the benefit of seeing the true large size that Africa boasts in comparison to the rest of the world.

Time zones are separated by approximately 15 degrees longitude. Since there are 24 hours in 1 day, there are 24 time zones on Earth. As the Earth completes one full rotation of 360 degrees in 24 hours, the distance between time zones in degrees can be found by dividing 360 degrees by 24 time zones.

360/24 = 15 degrees per time zone

The correct answer is 15 degrees longitude. The Earth rotates horizontally around its axis, so time zones would be drawn from North to South. Longitudinal lines run North to South, making lines of longitude the correct choice.

The Mercator Projection would be a very poor choice for depicting population density because the projections creates large distortions in landmasses near the poles. This issue makes the Mercator Projection inappropriate for showing land area-based data like population densities.

The Mercator Projection was created for ship navigation, so the projection would be a good choice for navigating between Europe and North America by ship. A Mercator Projection could be used to show where Africa is in relation to Europe because the land-mass distortions occur most at the poles. The Mercator Projection is able to depict lines of latitude and longitude effectively. Because the Mercator Projection has substantial distortion at the poles, it would be a good choice for showing the distortion that occurs from creating projections.