How are equal-area projections of Earth inaccurate?
(1 point)
Responses
There are distortions near the center of the map.
There are distortions near the center of the map.
Directions and the shapes of the landmasses are distorted.
Directions and the shapes of the landmasses are distorted.
This projection does not show true sizes.
This projection does not show true sizes.
Areas close to the poles are disproportionately large.
Areas close to the poles are disproportionately large.
Equal-area projections of Earth are inaccurate in several ways:
1. There are distortions near the center of the map: Equal-area projections, such as the Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection, tend to stretch and skew areas near the center of the map. This distortion can make landmasses appear elongated or exaggerated in size.
2. Directions and the shapes of the landmasses are distorted: Equal-area projections sacrifice accurate shape representation in order to maintain the correct relative sizes of land masses. As a result, shapes can be distorted, making coastlines and borders appear unusually curved or stretched.
3. This projection does not show true sizes: While equal-area projections strive to maintain accurate area representation across the map, they often do not accurately show true distances or sizes of regions. This means that the size of areas and their relative distances from each other may not be accurately portrayed.
4. Areas close to the poles are disproportionately large: Equal-area projections tend to expand regions near the polar areas, making them appear larger than they actually are on a globe. This distortion can result in an inaccurate representation of the true size and scale of these regions.