GISP Chapter 3 (Cartography &
Visualization) Questions &
Answers (Grade A+)
Cartography—ANSWER--The art and techniques of making maps. Cartography requires the
identification of who, what, where, and how.
3 Ways to specify color—ANSWER--RGB: Red, green and blue
CMYK: Cyan, magenta, yellow, black
HSV: Hue, saturation, value
RGB—ANSWER--Red, green and blue is the additive color system. The absence of each color
creates black and the max value of 255 of each color creates white. The combination of 2
colors creates a subtractive color.
RGBA—ANSWER--The A is for "Alpha". This value indicates transparency. 0 is fully
transparent. 255 if using 8-bit color, is fully opaque.
Opacity—ANSWER--Lacking transparency or translucence.
CMYK—ANSWER--The subtractive color system creates colors with the bases: Cyan,
magenta, yellow and black. The absence of all bases is white light. Subtractive colors absorb
, parts of the light spectrum leaving the rest of the spectrum behind. Mixing all subtractive
colors creates black.
HSV—ANSWER--Hue, saturation, value is another additive color system. Hue is the additive
color base determined by amounts of primary colors. Saturation is the intensity of the color.
Less intensity creates a lighter, white color. Value is the dimension of lightness/darkness.
Lower values create a darker color.
Feature Map—ANSWER--Show real world features represented by cartographic objects.
Used for navigation and reference maps. Also called reference maps.
Thematic Map—ANSWER--A map of a particular subject matter or theme. A thematic map
usually visualizes properties of geographic features that are not visible such as temperature,
language or population. It's best to use an equal area projection for a thematic map. Equal
area conic projections are used for the US, and equal area cylindrical projections are used for
the world.
Thematic Map Types—ANSWER--Choropleth Map
Dasymetric Map
Isarithmic or Isopleth Maps
Dot Density Map
Multivariate
Proportional Symbol
Graduated Symbols
© 2026 Copyright. All Rights Reserved. This document is
protected by copyright law, Copyrighted By Brittie Donald
Visualization) Questions &
Answers (Grade A+)
Cartography—ANSWER--The art and techniques of making maps. Cartography requires the
identification of who, what, where, and how.
3 Ways to specify color—ANSWER--RGB: Red, green and blue
CMYK: Cyan, magenta, yellow, black
HSV: Hue, saturation, value
RGB—ANSWER--Red, green and blue is the additive color system. The absence of each color
creates black and the max value of 255 of each color creates white. The combination of 2
colors creates a subtractive color.
RGBA—ANSWER--The A is for "Alpha". This value indicates transparency. 0 is fully
transparent. 255 if using 8-bit color, is fully opaque.
Opacity—ANSWER--Lacking transparency or translucence.
CMYK—ANSWER--The subtractive color system creates colors with the bases: Cyan,
magenta, yellow and black. The absence of all bases is white light. Subtractive colors absorb
, parts of the light spectrum leaving the rest of the spectrum behind. Mixing all subtractive
colors creates black.
HSV—ANSWER--Hue, saturation, value is another additive color system. Hue is the additive
color base determined by amounts of primary colors. Saturation is the intensity of the color.
Less intensity creates a lighter, white color. Value is the dimension of lightness/darkness.
Lower values create a darker color.
Feature Map—ANSWER--Show real world features represented by cartographic objects.
Used for navigation and reference maps. Also called reference maps.
Thematic Map—ANSWER--A map of a particular subject matter or theme. A thematic map
usually visualizes properties of geographic features that are not visible such as temperature,
language or population. It's best to use an equal area projection for a thematic map. Equal
area conic projections are used for the US, and equal area cylindrical projections are used for
the world.
Thematic Map Types—ANSWER--Choropleth Map
Dasymetric Map
Isarithmic or Isopleth Maps
Dot Density Map
Multivariate
Proportional Symbol
Graduated Symbols
© 2026 Copyright. All Rights Reserved. This document is
protected by copyright law, Copyrighted By Brittie Donald
