GEOG 3386 - GIS Exam with Complete
Solutions
What is a Geographical Information System (GIS)? - ANSWER-A framework for
gathering, managing, and analyzing data. Rooted in the science of geography, GIS
integrates many types of data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of
information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes. With this unique capability,
GIS reveals deeper insights into data, such as patterns, relationships, and situations —
helping users make smarter decisions.
What is a Geographical Information System (GIS) comprised of? - ANSWER-Hardware,
software, data, business rules, and people
What are the 3 components of geographically referenced data? - ANSWER-Position
(XY), attributes (description), and relationship (near, on)
What are the three components of topology? - ANSWER-Connectivity, contiguity, and
proximity
Define the difference between how raster and vector data models define the earth's
surface. - ANSWER-Vector data models assume the earth's surface is composed of
discrete objects, represented as point, line or polygon features defined by x,y coordinate
pairs. Raster data models assume the earth's surface is represented as a grid of equal
sized cells, with cells assigned a numeric value and defined in relation to their origin by
a single x,y coordinate pair.
What considerations should you make when choosing between a raster and vector data
format? - ANSWER-1. Representation - what are you looking to display? 2.
Generalization - provided the data resolution, can the data be suitably represented by
cells of this size?
3. Analysis - what type of analysis do you want to perform?
In a vector data model, each feature occupies a ____ and each property of the feature
occupies a _________. - ANSWER-Row, column
What is the number of coordinates required/minimum number of coordinates required
for a a) point, b) line, and c) polygon feature? - ANSWER-One only; minimum of 2;
minimum of 3
Give an example of some real-world objects commonly stored as points. - ANSWER-
Postbox, tree, lamppost
,Give an example of some real-world objects commonly stored as lines. - ANSWER-
Road, power line, river
Give an example of some real-world objects commonly stored as polygons. - ANSWER-
Field, building, lake
What are the two common types of vector models? - ANSWER-Simple (spaghetti)
model and topological model
Describe the advantages and disadvantages to a vector data model. - ANSWER-
Advantages:
- Good representation of entity data models
- Low storage requirements
- Can be topologically explicit
- Coordinate transformation & rubber sheeting is easy
- Accurate graphic representation
Disadvantages:
- Complex
- Considerable computer power required for calculations
- Time consuming and expensive
- Spatial interactions over geometry difficult to model if not defined by explicit topology
What is the difference between integer or float raster pixel values? - ANSWER-Integer
pixel values consist of whole numbers only, and are best used to represent categorical
data; Float pixel values consist of decimal numbers and thus can be used to represent
continuous data such as elevation.
How does grid cell size per unit area relate to the resolution of raster data? - ANSWER-
Large grid cells per unit area = low number of pixels = low resolution; Small grid cells
per unit area = high number of pixels = high resolution.
How does a smaller raster cell size affect feature spatial accuracy, display, processing,
and file size, compared to larger raster cell size? - ANSWER-Smaller cell size = greater
feature spatial accuracy, slower display, slower processing, and greater file size.
Define the 4 different methods for aggregation of grid cells including more than one data
value. - ANSWER-1. Maximum Combined Area Weighting - cell assigned value of
features covering the most area of cell
2. Maximum Area Weighting - cell assigned value of single feature covering the most
area of cell
3. Center Weighting -cell assigned to the value of the feature at the center of the cell
4. Prioritized - all values in dataset are ranked; cell always assigned value of highest
ranking feature
, What raster data format is commonly used to represent RGB imagery or multi-spectral
remote sensing imagery, consisting of several overlays of the same region represented
by different values? - ANSWER-Bands (Channels)
What are advantages and disadvantages of a raster data model? - ANSWER-
Advantages:
- Simple data structure
- Easy overlay
- Various kinds of spatial analysis
- Uniform size and shape
- Cheaper technology
Disadvantages:
- Large amount of data
- Less "pretty"
- Projection transformation is difficult
- Different scales between layers can be a nightmare
- May lose information due to generalization
What are some of the benefits of GIS? - ANSWER-Cost savings reduction; better
decision making; improved record-keeping of geographic info; geographical
management
How many bit is ArcMap compared to ArcGIS Pro? - ANSWER-32 bit vs 64 bit
What is a file geodatabase? - ANSWER-Created by ESRI, it serves as a storage
container for both spatial and non-spatial data, and can store tables, feature classes,
raster datasets, and more.
What are the benefits to using a file geodatabase (as well as compared to shape files)?
- ANSWER-Its main advantages are in the areas of structural, performance, and data
management. Compared to shape files, they have a much greater storage size for each
feature class, maximum number of fields, field name length, and no size limit on the
main file geodatabase. They also support many more datatypes than a shapefile, such
as raster files.
What is ArcGIS Pro? - ANSWER-The latest professional desktop GIS application
provided by ESRI, it allows users to explore, visualize, edit and analyze data in both 2D
and 3D scenes and this work can also be shared via ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS
Enterprise Portal.
What is an ArcGIS Pro "project"? - ANSWER-A file with the extension .aprx that can
consist of multiple maps, layouts, tools, etc. within a related body of work.
What are the main differences between ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro? - ANSWER-ArcGIS
Pro can utilize many components created using ArcMap, such as models, tools,
Solutions
What is a Geographical Information System (GIS)? - ANSWER-A framework for
gathering, managing, and analyzing data. Rooted in the science of geography, GIS
integrates many types of data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of
information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes. With this unique capability,
GIS reveals deeper insights into data, such as patterns, relationships, and situations —
helping users make smarter decisions.
What is a Geographical Information System (GIS) comprised of? - ANSWER-Hardware,
software, data, business rules, and people
What are the 3 components of geographically referenced data? - ANSWER-Position
(XY), attributes (description), and relationship (near, on)
What are the three components of topology? - ANSWER-Connectivity, contiguity, and
proximity
Define the difference between how raster and vector data models define the earth's
surface. - ANSWER-Vector data models assume the earth's surface is composed of
discrete objects, represented as point, line or polygon features defined by x,y coordinate
pairs. Raster data models assume the earth's surface is represented as a grid of equal
sized cells, with cells assigned a numeric value and defined in relation to their origin by
a single x,y coordinate pair.
What considerations should you make when choosing between a raster and vector data
format? - ANSWER-1. Representation - what are you looking to display? 2.
Generalization - provided the data resolution, can the data be suitably represented by
cells of this size?
3. Analysis - what type of analysis do you want to perform?
In a vector data model, each feature occupies a ____ and each property of the feature
occupies a _________. - ANSWER-Row, column
What is the number of coordinates required/minimum number of coordinates required
for a a) point, b) line, and c) polygon feature? - ANSWER-One only; minimum of 2;
minimum of 3
Give an example of some real-world objects commonly stored as points. - ANSWER-
Postbox, tree, lamppost
,Give an example of some real-world objects commonly stored as lines. - ANSWER-
Road, power line, river
Give an example of some real-world objects commonly stored as polygons. - ANSWER-
Field, building, lake
What are the two common types of vector models? - ANSWER-Simple (spaghetti)
model and topological model
Describe the advantages and disadvantages to a vector data model. - ANSWER-
Advantages:
- Good representation of entity data models
- Low storage requirements
- Can be topologically explicit
- Coordinate transformation & rubber sheeting is easy
- Accurate graphic representation
Disadvantages:
- Complex
- Considerable computer power required for calculations
- Time consuming and expensive
- Spatial interactions over geometry difficult to model if not defined by explicit topology
What is the difference between integer or float raster pixel values? - ANSWER-Integer
pixel values consist of whole numbers only, and are best used to represent categorical
data; Float pixel values consist of decimal numbers and thus can be used to represent
continuous data such as elevation.
How does grid cell size per unit area relate to the resolution of raster data? - ANSWER-
Large grid cells per unit area = low number of pixels = low resolution; Small grid cells
per unit area = high number of pixels = high resolution.
How does a smaller raster cell size affect feature spatial accuracy, display, processing,
and file size, compared to larger raster cell size? - ANSWER-Smaller cell size = greater
feature spatial accuracy, slower display, slower processing, and greater file size.
Define the 4 different methods for aggregation of grid cells including more than one data
value. - ANSWER-1. Maximum Combined Area Weighting - cell assigned value of
features covering the most area of cell
2. Maximum Area Weighting - cell assigned value of single feature covering the most
area of cell
3. Center Weighting -cell assigned to the value of the feature at the center of the cell
4. Prioritized - all values in dataset are ranked; cell always assigned value of highest
ranking feature
, What raster data format is commonly used to represent RGB imagery or multi-spectral
remote sensing imagery, consisting of several overlays of the same region represented
by different values? - ANSWER-Bands (Channels)
What are advantages and disadvantages of a raster data model? - ANSWER-
Advantages:
- Simple data structure
- Easy overlay
- Various kinds of spatial analysis
- Uniform size and shape
- Cheaper technology
Disadvantages:
- Large amount of data
- Less "pretty"
- Projection transformation is difficult
- Different scales between layers can be a nightmare
- May lose information due to generalization
What are some of the benefits of GIS? - ANSWER-Cost savings reduction; better
decision making; improved record-keeping of geographic info; geographical
management
How many bit is ArcMap compared to ArcGIS Pro? - ANSWER-32 bit vs 64 bit
What is a file geodatabase? - ANSWER-Created by ESRI, it serves as a storage
container for both spatial and non-spatial data, and can store tables, feature classes,
raster datasets, and more.
What are the benefits to using a file geodatabase (as well as compared to shape files)?
- ANSWER-Its main advantages are in the areas of structural, performance, and data
management. Compared to shape files, they have a much greater storage size for each
feature class, maximum number of fields, field name length, and no size limit on the
main file geodatabase. They also support many more datatypes than a shapefile, such
as raster files.
What is ArcGIS Pro? - ANSWER-The latest professional desktop GIS application
provided by ESRI, it allows users to explore, visualize, edit and analyze data in both 2D
and 3D scenes and this work can also be shared via ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS
Enterprise Portal.
What is an ArcGIS Pro "project"? - ANSWER-A file with the extension .aprx that can
consist of multiple maps, layouts, tools, etc. within a related body of work.
What are the main differences between ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro? - ANSWER-ArcGIS
Pro can utilize many components created using ArcMap, such as models, tools,
