What is one of the challenges of developing maps?
1 point
The Earth is too big to show on a map.
There are too many different projections and no one can agree which one we should use.
Maps are too hard to read.
Showing the Earth on a flat surface brings some distortion which makes things look the wrong size or in the wrong place.
Showing the Earth on a flat surface brings some distortion which makes things look the wrong size or in the wrong place.
What does a political map show?
*
1 point
elevation
rivers and mountains
countries or states
population
A political map shows countries or states.
Showing the Earth on a flat surface brings some distortion which makes things look the wrong size or in the wrong place.
The correct answer is: Showing the Earth on a flat surface brings some distortion which makes things look the wrong size or in the wrong place.
Developing maps has its challenges, and one of them is the distortion that occurs when representing the round Earth on a flat map. This distortion arises due to the inherent difficulty of accurately depicting a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional surface.
To understand why this occurs, imagine trying to peel an orange and flatten its skin onto a table without stretching or tearing it. You would notice that the skin would become distorted because it cannot perfectly match the shape of the orange.
Similarly, when trying to represent the Earth's spherical surface on a flat map, there will be distortion in various aspects such as size, shape, or distance. This distortion can make things appear larger, smaller, or in the wrong place compared to their actual positions on Earth.
To address this challenge, cartographers have developed various map projections. There are multiple projections to choose from, each with its benefits and drawbacks. These projections attempt to minimize the distortion in specific areas or aspects, depending on the purpose of the map.
Therefore, one of the challenges in developing maps is dealing with the distortion caused by representing the Earth, a curved surface, on a flat map.