TTU GIST 3300 EXAM 1 – GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE STUDY GUIDE,
PRACTICE QUESTIONS & REVIEW 2026/2027
What is GIS? - ANS ✔✔Geographic Information System. A computer system that can capture, store,
query, analyze, and display geographic data.
Development of GIS - ANS ✔✔Canadian Geographic Information Systems was the first, developed in the
early 1960's for the management of natural resources.
"Father is GIS" - ANS ✔✔Roger Tomlinson
5 components of a computer system - ANS ✔✔1) hardware 2) software 3) data 4) people 5) work flow
procedures
Vector data (points, lines, polygons) - ANS ✔✔Data composed of x y coordinates to represent a specific
location. Usually discrete.
Vector point - ANS ✔✔Single x y coordinate. Discrete
Vector line - ANS ✔✔2 or more connected x y coordinate pairs. Discrete
Vector polygon - ANS ✔✔3 or more connected x y coordinate pairs where the first and last coordinates
coincide. Discrete
Raster data - ANS ✔✔Represent features on the earth within a square area of specified size (ex. Square
meter) Usually continuous.
Discrete features - ANS ✔✔-specific geographic location
-points lines and polygons are all considered discrete.
Continuous features - ANS ✔✔-have no defined location
-can be measured anywhere on a map
-can be mapped as a surface (ex. temp, elevation, precipitation)
Examples of points: - ANS ✔✔-Cities on a world map
-oil wells
-landmarks
Examples of lines: - ANS ✔✔-streams
-roads
-pipelines
Examples of polygons: - ANS ✔✔-counties
-parks
-land parcels
, Advantages of vector data - ANS ✔✔Smaller data sets, fast display, feature attribute table
Advantages of raster data - ANS ✔✔Simple data structure, ideal for mapping continuous data, efficient
data processing for advanced spatial analysis
Disadvantages of vector data - ANS ✔✔More complex data structure, continuous features difficult to
represent
Disadvantages of raster data - ANS ✔✔Larger data sets, slower computation speeds, no attribute table
for each feature
Abstraction - ANS ✔✔Only selected features (layers) are displayed, can't show every feature in the real
world
Generalization - ANS ✔✔Features are simplified, can't show all the detail with real-world features
Map Scales (3 types) - ANS ✔✔1)verbal scale
2)bar scale
3)representative fraction
Verbal scale - ANS ✔✔easy to understand
difficult to convert units
not valid if map is enlarged or reduced
Bar scale - ANS ✔✔easy to understand
remains valid if map is enlarged or reduced
difficult to convert units
Representative fraction - ANS ✔✔Not dependent on measurement units
Difficult to visualize
Not valid if map is enlarged or reduced
Types of maps - ANS ✔✔1)Maps categorized by scale
1)Maps categorized by function
Maps Categorized by Scale - ANS ✔✔Large scale (1:5,000) Small scale (1:1,000,000)
Small area Large area
Less abstract More abstract
Less generalized More generalized
Maps Categorized by Function - ANS ✔✔-general reference maps
-road maps, topographic maps, atlases
-can fulfill many purposes
Cadastral maps or plat maps-used by cities, planners and developers to lots of various areas in a city
-property boundaries
-charts(navigation maps)
PRACTICE QUESTIONS & REVIEW 2026/2027
What is GIS? - ANS ✔✔Geographic Information System. A computer system that can capture, store,
query, analyze, and display geographic data.
Development of GIS - ANS ✔✔Canadian Geographic Information Systems was the first, developed in the
early 1960's for the management of natural resources.
"Father is GIS" - ANS ✔✔Roger Tomlinson
5 components of a computer system - ANS ✔✔1) hardware 2) software 3) data 4) people 5) work flow
procedures
Vector data (points, lines, polygons) - ANS ✔✔Data composed of x y coordinates to represent a specific
location. Usually discrete.
Vector point - ANS ✔✔Single x y coordinate. Discrete
Vector line - ANS ✔✔2 or more connected x y coordinate pairs. Discrete
Vector polygon - ANS ✔✔3 or more connected x y coordinate pairs where the first and last coordinates
coincide. Discrete
Raster data - ANS ✔✔Represent features on the earth within a square area of specified size (ex. Square
meter) Usually continuous.
Discrete features - ANS ✔✔-specific geographic location
-points lines and polygons are all considered discrete.
Continuous features - ANS ✔✔-have no defined location
-can be measured anywhere on a map
-can be mapped as a surface (ex. temp, elevation, precipitation)
Examples of points: - ANS ✔✔-Cities on a world map
-oil wells
-landmarks
Examples of lines: - ANS ✔✔-streams
-roads
-pipelines
Examples of polygons: - ANS ✔✔-counties
-parks
-land parcels
, Advantages of vector data - ANS ✔✔Smaller data sets, fast display, feature attribute table
Advantages of raster data - ANS ✔✔Simple data structure, ideal for mapping continuous data, efficient
data processing for advanced spatial analysis
Disadvantages of vector data - ANS ✔✔More complex data structure, continuous features difficult to
represent
Disadvantages of raster data - ANS ✔✔Larger data sets, slower computation speeds, no attribute table
for each feature
Abstraction - ANS ✔✔Only selected features (layers) are displayed, can't show every feature in the real
world
Generalization - ANS ✔✔Features are simplified, can't show all the detail with real-world features
Map Scales (3 types) - ANS ✔✔1)verbal scale
2)bar scale
3)representative fraction
Verbal scale - ANS ✔✔easy to understand
difficult to convert units
not valid if map is enlarged or reduced
Bar scale - ANS ✔✔easy to understand
remains valid if map is enlarged or reduced
difficult to convert units
Representative fraction - ANS ✔✔Not dependent on measurement units
Difficult to visualize
Not valid if map is enlarged or reduced
Types of maps - ANS ✔✔1)Maps categorized by scale
1)Maps categorized by function
Maps Categorized by Scale - ANS ✔✔Large scale (1:5,000) Small scale (1:1,000,000)
Small area Large area
Less abstract More abstract
Less generalized More generalized
Maps Categorized by Function - ANS ✔✔-general reference maps
-road maps, topographic maps, atlases
-can fulfill many purposes
Cadastral maps or plat maps-used by cities, planners and developers to lots of various areas in a city
-property boundaries
-charts(navigation maps)
