How are equal-area projections of Earth inaccurate? (1 point)
Areas close to the poles are disproportionately large
• There are distortions near the center of the map.
Directions and the shapes of the landmasses are distorted.
Areas close to the poles are disproportionately large
Equal-area projections of the Earth, such as the Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area projection or the Mollweide projection, aim to preserve the relative sizes of different areas on the Earth's surface. However, due to the nature of projecting a three-dimensional object onto a two-dimensional map, there are inevitable distortions.
One of the main inaccuracies of equal-area projections is that areas near the poles are disproportionately large compared to their actual size on the Earth. This is because the projection stretches out the areas near the poles in order to maintain the equal areas. As a result, landmasses near the poles appear larger than they actually are on the map.
Additionally, there are distortions near the center of the map in equal-area projections. While the sizes of the areas are maintained accurately, the shapes of the landmasses can be distorted. For example, a continent or country may appear elongated or compressed in certain directions on the map. This distortion becomes more pronounced the further you move away from the center of the projection.
In summary, equal-area projections of the Earth accurately represent the sizes of different areas, but at the cost of distorting the shapes of landmasses and magnifying areas near the poles. It is important to be aware of these distortions when using or interpreting maps based on equal-area projections.
Equal-area projections of the Earth are inaccurate due to two main reasons:
1. Disproportionately large areas near the poles: Equal-area projections aim to preserve the relative sizes of different regions on the Earth's surface. However, these projections tend to distort areas close to the poles, making them appear larger than they actually are. This occurs because the Earth's surface is not flat and trying to represent a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional map inevitably leads to some form of distortion.
2. Distortions near the center of the map: Another form of distortion in equal-area projections is observed near the center of the map. As the map's projection tries to maintain accurate area measurements, it may result in distortions of directions and shapes of landmasses. This means that straight lines on a globe may not appear straight on an equal-area projection, and the shapes of countries and continents may be altered.
In summary, while equal-area projections are beneficial for accurately representing relative sizes of regions, they sacrifice accuracy in terms of shape and direction, particularly near the poles and around the center of the map.