MAP Test Questions and Answers (Latest 2025/2026)
• Barrier Distance - : rivers and mountains affect how far it is to other place
- City settlements - Marriage patterns??
• Linkage Diagram - : a very simplified map making all routes between places straight lines. Mileage
and often driving times are listed along the lines.
• Orientation: - before a map can help you find your way around, you mast align it with the visible
surroundings. This may be done with or without a compass
• Turning the map to match the environment (physically or mentally)
• Physical distance: - the most common distance used in making maps involves the physical
separation of two points in a unit of measurement like miles, feet, kilometers or meters.
• Problems with metes and bounds - o Not too bad when land is not densely populated and when
the land is not too valuable
o Problems are evident, things do change
o Can imporive by use of direction and distances eliminating landmarks, but even directions can
change
• Radio Direction Finder- - radio receiver which has highly directional antenna, so it can only pick up
stations if precisely aligned to the directions of the signal - antenna is in a compass!
Multiple radio signals
2 signals: gives two points for resection to plot position by radio
• Scale - : the map scale is critical to the determination of any distance
• Often conversion is required between scale types (R.F., Verbal, Graphic), and between Earth units
- 1mile= 63,360 inches
- 1 mi = 5280 ft
- 1 mi= 1.61 km
- 1 km= 0.621 ft
• Scale Error: - occurs because many projections do not have the property of equidistance!
,- Cannot measure accurate distance over large areas on small scale maps except at a few locations or
along a few standard lines!
- What to do? If long distance measurements must be made (over 3000 miles or so) use a globe!, or
you must obtain the correct equidistant projection.
• Segment numbers: - numbers found along road ways that give mileage between towns or
intersections
- Also may find consolidated mileage between larger points, large cities or large highways, usually in
a different color and marked by arrow or stars at the endpoints
• Slope error - - maps are projected flat, thus effect of traveling up and down hills is not counted in
measurements!
• Parallel perspective puts all points in their correct locations, but on the same plane since maps are
flat
As slope gets larger, the errors increase in amount. Even 1°error is a problem to surveying.
• Symbol Error - many features on maps are exaggerated in size to be seen
- Do not assume that everything is always drawn to scale! Many features are important enough that
they are drawn too large so they show up. This is especially true for point and line features.
- May cause errors in measuring symbols and the spaces between them.
1862 homestead act - In the 1860's the US gov was encouraging westward movement to reduce the
crowded conditions in the east and to settle lands that it claimed
The act was repealed in 1976 but alaska maintained homestead until 1986
1927 SPC zones - - took 120 zones in 48 US states to be this accurate
• projection was a:
o Lambert conformal conic for e/w trending states- 2 standard parallels
o OR transverse Mercator for N/S trending states- 1 central meridians
absolute direction - • Measurement between 2 points: origin to destination
• Angle between the two is your travel line:
- Direction line (from the origin to the destination) and the
- Baseline: N-S running line passing through the point from which direction is to be measured
, absolute location - • Cartesian coordinates: (x,y) systems: measures units equally along each axis
cannot be used on earth because it does not fit a sphere
used on plane surfaces
locates any point from a prescribes origin
Accuracy on horizontal data on USGS topographic maps - • Maps at scales larger than 1:20000 must
have fewer than 10% points tested off by 1/30"
• Maps at scales smaller than 1:20000 must have fewer than 10% points tested off by 1/50"
Active sensors: LORAN-C - • Method:
- Signals were transmitted 24 hours/day from master + secondary stations along the coasts of North
America and far eastern Russia.
- A LORAN receiver receives the signal from 2 stations (antenna) broadcasting the same pulse
pattern.
- Definition gets tricky - it's actually both active and passive (it is p powered) but an infinite number
of people could use it simultaneously. Doesn't generate its own data.
Done for 2 pairs of transmitters, 2 lines are given that intersect at position- radio equipment can tell
stations pairs apart by their data pulses
• Numbers on nautical charts match the time differences between the stations
Active Sensors: Radar - 1 signal- speed and direction of wave travel is known thus position is based
on resection and distance estimate for return (RADAR)
Exactly like a 1 point resection: beam goes out, some energy comes back
Actual Senses - We have five senses: - Sight - Smell - Taste - Touch - Hearing
We use clues from these senses constantly to have any "sense of direction".
Well developed use of these clues proves to the user that they have good senses, not really a sense
of direction
Advantages Lat/long - Advantages:
1. fill the earth perfectly with no distortion
2. indicate locations correctly to 101 ft or better on the average
• Barrier Distance - : rivers and mountains affect how far it is to other place
- City settlements - Marriage patterns??
• Linkage Diagram - : a very simplified map making all routes between places straight lines. Mileage
and often driving times are listed along the lines.
• Orientation: - before a map can help you find your way around, you mast align it with the visible
surroundings. This may be done with or without a compass
• Turning the map to match the environment (physically or mentally)
• Physical distance: - the most common distance used in making maps involves the physical
separation of two points in a unit of measurement like miles, feet, kilometers or meters.
• Problems with metes and bounds - o Not too bad when land is not densely populated and when
the land is not too valuable
o Problems are evident, things do change
o Can imporive by use of direction and distances eliminating landmarks, but even directions can
change
• Radio Direction Finder- - radio receiver which has highly directional antenna, so it can only pick up
stations if precisely aligned to the directions of the signal - antenna is in a compass!
Multiple radio signals
2 signals: gives two points for resection to plot position by radio
• Scale - : the map scale is critical to the determination of any distance
• Often conversion is required between scale types (R.F., Verbal, Graphic), and between Earth units
- 1mile= 63,360 inches
- 1 mi = 5280 ft
- 1 mi= 1.61 km
- 1 km= 0.621 ft
• Scale Error: - occurs because many projections do not have the property of equidistance!
,- Cannot measure accurate distance over large areas on small scale maps except at a few locations or
along a few standard lines!
- What to do? If long distance measurements must be made (over 3000 miles or so) use a globe!, or
you must obtain the correct equidistant projection.
• Segment numbers: - numbers found along road ways that give mileage between towns or
intersections
- Also may find consolidated mileage between larger points, large cities or large highways, usually in
a different color and marked by arrow or stars at the endpoints
• Slope error - - maps are projected flat, thus effect of traveling up and down hills is not counted in
measurements!
• Parallel perspective puts all points in their correct locations, but on the same plane since maps are
flat
As slope gets larger, the errors increase in amount. Even 1°error is a problem to surveying.
• Symbol Error - many features on maps are exaggerated in size to be seen
- Do not assume that everything is always drawn to scale! Many features are important enough that
they are drawn too large so they show up. This is especially true for point and line features.
- May cause errors in measuring symbols and the spaces between them.
1862 homestead act - In the 1860's the US gov was encouraging westward movement to reduce the
crowded conditions in the east and to settle lands that it claimed
The act was repealed in 1976 but alaska maintained homestead until 1986
1927 SPC zones - - took 120 zones in 48 US states to be this accurate
• projection was a:
o Lambert conformal conic for e/w trending states- 2 standard parallels
o OR transverse Mercator for N/S trending states- 1 central meridians
absolute direction - • Measurement between 2 points: origin to destination
• Angle between the two is your travel line:
- Direction line (from the origin to the destination) and the
- Baseline: N-S running line passing through the point from which direction is to be measured
, absolute location - • Cartesian coordinates: (x,y) systems: measures units equally along each axis
cannot be used on earth because it does not fit a sphere
used on plane surfaces
locates any point from a prescribes origin
Accuracy on horizontal data on USGS topographic maps - • Maps at scales larger than 1:20000 must
have fewer than 10% points tested off by 1/30"
• Maps at scales smaller than 1:20000 must have fewer than 10% points tested off by 1/50"
Active sensors: LORAN-C - • Method:
- Signals were transmitted 24 hours/day from master + secondary stations along the coasts of North
America and far eastern Russia.
- A LORAN receiver receives the signal from 2 stations (antenna) broadcasting the same pulse
pattern.
- Definition gets tricky - it's actually both active and passive (it is p powered) but an infinite number
of people could use it simultaneously. Doesn't generate its own data.
Done for 2 pairs of transmitters, 2 lines are given that intersect at position- radio equipment can tell
stations pairs apart by their data pulses
• Numbers on nautical charts match the time differences between the stations
Active Sensors: Radar - 1 signal- speed and direction of wave travel is known thus position is based
on resection and distance estimate for return (RADAR)
Exactly like a 1 point resection: beam goes out, some energy comes back
Actual Senses - We have five senses: - Sight - Smell - Taste - Touch - Hearing
We use clues from these senses constantly to have any "sense of direction".
Well developed use of these clues proves to the user that they have good senses, not really a sense
of direction
Advantages Lat/long - Advantages:
1. fill the earth perfectly with no distortion
2. indicate locations correctly to 101 ft or better on the average
