GISP Exam UPDATED ACTUAL Questions
and CORRECT Answers
Georeferencing - CORRECT ANSWER Associating a map (such as a pdf without spatial
information) or image (such as an aerial image without spatial information) with spatial
locations.
Control Points - CORRECT ANSWER Consisting of multiple points, points come in pairs
that match the spatial location with a point on an unreferenced image or map.
Spatial Reference System (SRS) or Coordinate Reference System (CRS) - CORRECT
ANSWER A coordinate-based local, regional or global system used to locate geographical
entities.
International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS) - CORRECT ANSWER It's a three-
dimensional coordinate system with a well defined origin (the center of mass of the Earth) and
three orthogonal coordinate axes (X, Y, Z).
Map Projection - CORRECT ANSWER Transforming coordinates from a curved earth to a
flat map.
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) - CORRECT ANSWER A global coordinate
system - UTM zones are 6 degrees.
Horizontal Datum - CORRECT ANSWER Model of the Earth as a spheroid (2
components, reference ellipsis and a set of survey points both the shape of the spheroid and its
position relative to the Earth).
Vertical Datum - CORRECT ANSWER Reference point for elevations of surfaces and
features on the Earth - could be based on tidal, seas levels, gravimetric, based on a geoid.
NAVD88 - CORRECT ANSWER Gravity based geodetic datum in North America.
,Geodetic Datum - CORRECT ANSWER Set of control whose geometric relationships are
known, either through measurement or calculation.
WGS - World Geodetic System - CORRECT ANSWER Reference coordinate system used
by the Global Positioning System (GPS).
SRID Integer - CORRECT ANSWER Spatial reference system ID numbers, including
EPSG codes defined by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers.
4 Distortions - CORRECT ANSWER Distance, Direction, Shape, Area
Mercator Projection - CORRECT ANSWER Preserves shape and direction, area gets
distorted - projecting Earth onto a cylinder tangent to a meridian.
Azimuthal Equidistant - CORRECT ANSWER Planar (tangent) - used for air route
distances - distances measured from the center are true - distortion of other properties increases
away from the center point.
Cylindrical Equal - Area Projections - CORRECT ANSWER Preserves area, shape and
distance gets distorted near the upper and lower regions of the map - straight meridians and
parallels - meridians are equally spaced and the parallels are unequally spaced.
Conic Projections - CORRECT ANSWER Preserves directions and areas in limited areas -
distorts distances and scale except along standard parallels - generated by projecting a spherical
surface onto a cone.
Latitude Projection - CORRECT ANSWER Low-latitude areas (near equator) use a
conical projection, Polar regions use a azimuthal planar projection.
,Extent Projection - CORRECT ANSWER Broad in East-West (e.g., the US) use a conical
projection; Broad in North-South ( e.g., Africa) use a transverse-case cylindrical projection.
Thematic Projection - CORRECT ANSWER If you are doing an analysis that compares
different values in different locations, typically an equal-area projection will be used.
Discrete Features - CORRECT ANSWER A feature that has a definable boundary, begins
and ends, for example a highway or lake.
Continuous Phenomena - CORRECT ANSWER Each location is a measure of something,
for example elevation. A. Measure of concentration level. B. Measure of a value in terms of a
fixed point (like elevation in terms of sea level).
Geoid - CORRECT ANSWER The shape that the surface of the oceans would take under
the influence of Earth's gravitation and rotation alone, in the absence of other influences such as
winds and tides - used to reference heights, by registering ocean's water level at coastal places
using tide gauges - this is how the mean sea level is determined.
Reference Ellipsoid - CORRECT ANSWER A mathematically defined surface that
approximates the geoid, the truer figure of the Earth, or other planetary body.
Oblate Ellipsoid - CORRECT ANSWER Fits the geoid to a first order approximation -
formed when an ellipse is rotated about its minor axis.
Sphere - CORRECT ANSWER As can be seen from the dimensions of the Earth Ellipsoid,
the semi-major axis A and the semi-minor axis B differ only by a bit more the 21 kilometers.
First (direct) Geodetic Problem - CORRECT ANSWER Given a point ( in terms of its
coordinates) and the direction (azimuth) and distance from that point to a second point,
determine (the coordinates of) that second point.
, Second (inverse) Geodetic Problem - CORRECT ANSWER Given two points, determine
the azimuth and length of the line (straight line, arc or geodesic) that connects them.
Geomatics - CORRECT ANSWER Science and technology of gathering, analyzing,
interpreting, distributing, and using geographic information (includes surveying, mapping,
remote sensing, GIS, GPS).
Spatial Model - CORRECT ANSWER Basic properties and process for a set of spatial
features.
Cartographic Model - CORRECT ANSWER Temporally static, imbibed spatial datasets,
operations and functions for problem solving. According to Bolstad.
Spatial-Temporal Models - CORRECT ANSWER Dynamics in space and time, time
driven processes. According to Bolstad.
Network Models - CORRECT ANSWER Modeling of resources (flow, accumulation) as
limited to networks. According to Bolstad.
Data Models - CORRECT ANSWER Entities and fields as conceptual models. According
to Goodchild.
Static Modeling - CORRECT ANSWER Taking inputs to transform them into outputs
using sets of tools and functions. According to Goodchild.
Dynamic Modeling - CORRECT ANSWER Iterative, sets of initial conditions, apply
transformations to obtain a series of predictions at time intervals. According to Goodchild.
Based on Purpose Descriptive - CORRECT ANSWER Passive, description of the study
area prescriptive - active, imposing best solution. According to DeMers.
and CORRECT Answers
Georeferencing - CORRECT ANSWER Associating a map (such as a pdf without spatial
information) or image (such as an aerial image without spatial information) with spatial
locations.
Control Points - CORRECT ANSWER Consisting of multiple points, points come in pairs
that match the spatial location with a point on an unreferenced image or map.
Spatial Reference System (SRS) or Coordinate Reference System (CRS) - CORRECT
ANSWER A coordinate-based local, regional or global system used to locate geographical
entities.
International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS) - CORRECT ANSWER It's a three-
dimensional coordinate system with a well defined origin (the center of mass of the Earth) and
three orthogonal coordinate axes (X, Y, Z).
Map Projection - CORRECT ANSWER Transforming coordinates from a curved earth to a
flat map.
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) - CORRECT ANSWER A global coordinate
system - UTM zones are 6 degrees.
Horizontal Datum - CORRECT ANSWER Model of the Earth as a spheroid (2
components, reference ellipsis and a set of survey points both the shape of the spheroid and its
position relative to the Earth).
Vertical Datum - CORRECT ANSWER Reference point for elevations of surfaces and
features on the Earth - could be based on tidal, seas levels, gravimetric, based on a geoid.
NAVD88 - CORRECT ANSWER Gravity based geodetic datum in North America.
,Geodetic Datum - CORRECT ANSWER Set of control whose geometric relationships are
known, either through measurement or calculation.
WGS - World Geodetic System - CORRECT ANSWER Reference coordinate system used
by the Global Positioning System (GPS).
SRID Integer - CORRECT ANSWER Spatial reference system ID numbers, including
EPSG codes defined by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers.
4 Distortions - CORRECT ANSWER Distance, Direction, Shape, Area
Mercator Projection - CORRECT ANSWER Preserves shape and direction, area gets
distorted - projecting Earth onto a cylinder tangent to a meridian.
Azimuthal Equidistant - CORRECT ANSWER Planar (tangent) - used for air route
distances - distances measured from the center are true - distortion of other properties increases
away from the center point.
Cylindrical Equal - Area Projections - CORRECT ANSWER Preserves area, shape and
distance gets distorted near the upper and lower regions of the map - straight meridians and
parallels - meridians are equally spaced and the parallels are unequally spaced.
Conic Projections - CORRECT ANSWER Preserves directions and areas in limited areas -
distorts distances and scale except along standard parallels - generated by projecting a spherical
surface onto a cone.
Latitude Projection - CORRECT ANSWER Low-latitude areas (near equator) use a
conical projection, Polar regions use a azimuthal planar projection.
,Extent Projection - CORRECT ANSWER Broad in East-West (e.g., the US) use a conical
projection; Broad in North-South ( e.g., Africa) use a transverse-case cylindrical projection.
Thematic Projection - CORRECT ANSWER If you are doing an analysis that compares
different values in different locations, typically an equal-area projection will be used.
Discrete Features - CORRECT ANSWER A feature that has a definable boundary, begins
and ends, for example a highway or lake.
Continuous Phenomena - CORRECT ANSWER Each location is a measure of something,
for example elevation. A. Measure of concentration level. B. Measure of a value in terms of a
fixed point (like elevation in terms of sea level).
Geoid - CORRECT ANSWER The shape that the surface of the oceans would take under
the influence of Earth's gravitation and rotation alone, in the absence of other influences such as
winds and tides - used to reference heights, by registering ocean's water level at coastal places
using tide gauges - this is how the mean sea level is determined.
Reference Ellipsoid - CORRECT ANSWER A mathematically defined surface that
approximates the geoid, the truer figure of the Earth, or other planetary body.
Oblate Ellipsoid - CORRECT ANSWER Fits the geoid to a first order approximation -
formed when an ellipse is rotated about its minor axis.
Sphere - CORRECT ANSWER As can be seen from the dimensions of the Earth Ellipsoid,
the semi-major axis A and the semi-minor axis B differ only by a bit more the 21 kilometers.
First (direct) Geodetic Problem - CORRECT ANSWER Given a point ( in terms of its
coordinates) and the direction (azimuth) and distance from that point to a second point,
determine (the coordinates of) that second point.
, Second (inverse) Geodetic Problem - CORRECT ANSWER Given two points, determine
the azimuth and length of the line (straight line, arc or geodesic) that connects them.
Geomatics - CORRECT ANSWER Science and technology of gathering, analyzing,
interpreting, distributing, and using geographic information (includes surveying, mapping,
remote sensing, GIS, GPS).
Spatial Model - CORRECT ANSWER Basic properties and process for a set of spatial
features.
Cartographic Model - CORRECT ANSWER Temporally static, imbibed spatial datasets,
operations and functions for problem solving. According to Bolstad.
Spatial-Temporal Models - CORRECT ANSWER Dynamics in space and time, time
driven processes. According to Bolstad.
Network Models - CORRECT ANSWER Modeling of resources (flow, accumulation) as
limited to networks. According to Bolstad.
Data Models - CORRECT ANSWER Entities and fields as conceptual models. According
to Goodchild.
Static Modeling - CORRECT ANSWER Taking inputs to transform them into outputs
using sets of tools and functions. According to Goodchild.
Dynamic Modeling - CORRECT ANSWER Iterative, sets of initial conditions, apply
transformations to obtain a series of predictions at time intervals. According to Goodchild.
Based on Purpose Descriptive - CORRECT ANSWER Passive, description of the study
area prescriptive - active, imposing best solution. According to DeMers.
