GISP COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026
FULL QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ 802 DIFF.
Answer: Logical Difference (If a cell value is different, one or the other is
returned, or if they're the same a zero is returned)
◍ Events.
Answer: Attributes occurring along a route.
◍ 202 What are the 4 types of cardinality?.
Answer: One to One, One to Many, Many to One, Many to Many1-1 each
object of the origin table can be related to 0 or 1 object of the destination
tableEach State has one capital1- Many each object in the origin table can be
related to the multiple objects in the destination tableEach burrito can have
many fillingsMany - Many multiple objects of the origin table can be related
to multiple objects of the destination tableEach taco truck can offer many
foods
◍ static modeling.
Answer: taking inputs to transform them into outputs using sets of tools and
functions
◍ 603 How does the "cubic" technique resample a raster?.
Answer: Interpolates the value from the 16 surrounding cells
◍ 602 When would you use a scatter plot to represent data?.
Answer: Showing relationship of two different data
◍ 201 What is a point?.
Answer: Discrete location on the groundRepresented by a coordinate pair
,◍ Computational Modeling.
Answer: Models as simplified representations of reality
◍ 801 What types of data do REST services support?.
Answer: JSON & XML
◍ 502 Typify.
Answer: Referred to as distribution refinement. A set of graphics (points,
lines, polygons) is replaced with a smaller set of the same graphics.
◍ 501 What is the ESRI name for a Raster Catalog?.
Answer: Mosaic Raster Dataset
◍ Iterations (Scripting Basics).
Answer: 802- repeating a process to generate an outcome-for loops, do
while loops, do until loops
◍ 101 What datum does Web Mercator use?.
Answer: WGS84
◍ Junction.
Answer: A street intersection
◍ 201 What is a geographic coordinate system? What are some examples of a
geographic coordinate system?.
Answer: Geographic coordinate systems use lat/long to define a location on
the EarthA geographic coordinate system (GCS) uses a three-dimensional
spherical surface to define locations on the earth. A GCS is often incorrectly
called a datum, but a datum is only one part of a GCS. A GCS includes an
angular unit of measure, a prime meridian, and a datum (based on a
spheroid).Geographic Coordinate Systems: Location on an ellipsoid is
defined by latitude and longitude that specifies the angle between any point
and the equator, and the angle between any point and the prime meridian.
◍ 203 How do you determine raster resolution?.
Answer: It is the size of the individual pixel (if a pixel is 2ft X 2ft it is a 2ft
resolution raster)
,◍ Floating-point raster.
Answer: A raster that contains cells of continuous values.
◍ 304 What are 3 ways to show elevation data?.
Answer: TIN (triangulated irregular network), Profile, Raster
◍ 503 What files are required for a shapefile to work?.
Answer: .shp, .dbf, .shx
◍ 201 What is a curve? How is a true curve defined?.
Answer: A curve is defined by vertices. A true curve is defined and stored as
an equation
◍ Trend surface analysis.
Answer: A global interpolation method that uses points with known values
and a polynomial equation to approximate a surface
◍ Value.
Answer: The lightness or darkness of a color
◍ Indexes (Database Objects).
Answer: 701- data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval
operations in a database table-causes more storage space and additional
writes-quickly locate data in database-indexes can be on multiple columns
◍ 101 Which projection map best preserves all distortions? If you don't want
any distortion, what is the best option for mapping the entire World?.
Answer: None, they all have some kind of distortion. A globe.
◍ 901 What are some examples of GIS software?.
Answer: GRASSEsriQGISMapInfoSmallworldMaptitude
◍ 101 T or F: NAD83 State Planes are in meters, but states clarify which type
of feet should be used in their state..
Answer: True
◍ IMG File.
Answer: 503- image
, ◍ Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) Mask.
Answer: MISC- method of setting a threshold to control the strength of the
radiation exposure compared with the amount of noise apparent in a digital
image to minimize error
◍ Contour Lines.
Answer: Lines of equal height above or below sea level. Contours lines run
perpendicular to slope.
◍ Expression (Scripting Basics).
Answer: 802- most basic programming instruction-contains vales and
operators that can reduce to a single value
◍ Geometric Accuracy- Data Quality.
Answer: 203- how close the x-y values of a data set correspond to the actual
locations on the earth's surface
◍ GNSS User Segment.
Answer: Consists of GNSS receivers
◍ 604 When would you choose the IDW interpolation method?.
Answer: IDW will average where there is no point data and "smooth" out
the ENTIRE surface. The closer a point is to the center of the cell being
estimated, the more influence, or weight, it has in the averaging process.
Cons: It does not preserve all the data points.
◍ 602 What is Moran's Index? What does a positive/negative/zero value
mean?.
Answer: Measures spatial autocorrelation. Positive values: similar values are
clustered together. Negative values: dissimilar values are clustered together.
Zero: no spatial autocorrelation
◍ 301 Isarithmic or Isopleth.
Answer: lines of equal value are drawn or ranges of similar values are filled
with similar colors or patterns(meteorology, physical contour/elevation,
magnetism, etc) ISO = equal
FULL QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ 802 DIFF.
Answer: Logical Difference (If a cell value is different, one or the other is
returned, or if they're the same a zero is returned)
◍ Events.
Answer: Attributes occurring along a route.
◍ 202 What are the 4 types of cardinality?.
Answer: One to One, One to Many, Many to One, Many to Many1-1 each
object of the origin table can be related to 0 or 1 object of the destination
tableEach State has one capital1- Many each object in the origin table can be
related to the multiple objects in the destination tableEach burrito can have
many fillingsMany - Many multiple objects of the origin table can be related
to multiple objects of the destination tableEach taco truck can offer many
foods
◍ static modeling.
Answer: taking inputs to transform them into outputs using sets of tools and
functions
◍ 603 How does the "cubic" technique resample a raster?.
Answer: Interpolates the value from the 16 surrounding cells
◍ 602 When would you use a scatter plot to represent data?.
Answer: Showing relationship of two different data
◍ 201 What is a point?.
Answer: Discrete location on the groundRepresented by a coordinate pair
,◍ Computational Modeling.
Answer: Models as simplified representations of reality
◍ 801 What types of data do REST services support?.
Answer: JSON & XML
◍ 502 Typify.
Answer: Referred to as distribution refinement. A set of graphics (points,
lines, polygons) is replaced with a smaller set of the same graphics.
◍ 501 What is the ESRI name for a Raster Catalog?.
Answer: Mosaic Raster Dataset
◍ Iterations (Scripting Basics).
Answer: 802- repeating a process to generate an outcome-for loops, do
while loops, do until loops
◍ 101 What datum does Web Mercator use?.
Answer: WGS84
◍ Junction.
Answer: A street intersection
◍ 201 What is a geographic coordinate system? What are some examples of a
geographic coordinate system?.
Answer: Geographic coordinate systems use lat/long to define a location on
the EarthA geographic coordinate system (GCS) uses a three-dimensional
spherical surface to define locations on the earth. A GCS is often incorrectly
called a datum, but a datum is only one part of a GCS. A GCS includes an
angular unit of measure, a prime meridian, and a datum (based on a
spheroid).Geographic Coordinate Systems: Location on an ellipsoid is
defined by latitude and longitude that specifies the angle between any point
and the equator, and the angle between any point and the prime meridian.
◍ 203 How do you determine raster resolution?.
Answer: It is the size of the individual pixel (if a pixel is 2ft X 2ft it is a 2ft
resolution raster)
,◍ Floating-point raster.
Answer: A raster that contains cells of continuous values.
◍ 304 What are 3 ways to show elevation data?.
Answer: TIN (triangulated irregular network), Profile, Raster
◍ 503 What files are required for a shapefile to work?.
Answer: .shp, .dbf, .shx
◍ 201 What is a curve? How is a true curve defined?.
Answer: A curve is defined by vertices. A true curve is defined and stored as
an equation
◍ Trend surface analysis.
Answer: A global interpolation method that uses points with known values
and a polynomial equation to approximate a surface
◍ Value.
Answer: The lightness or darkness of a color
◍ Indexes (Database Objects).
Answer: 701- data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval
operations in a database table-causes more storage space and additional
writes-quickly locate data in database-indexes can be on multiple columns
◍ 101 Which projection map best preserves all distortions? If you don't want
any distortion, what is the best option for mapping the entire World?.
Answer: None, they all have some kind of distortion. A globe.
◍ 901 What are some examples of GIS software?.
Answer: GRASSEsriQGISMapInfoSmallworldMaptitude
◍ 101 T or F: NAD83 State Planes are in meters, but states clarify which type
of feet should be used in their state..
Answer: True
◍ IMG File.
Answer: 503- image
, ◍ Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) Mask.
Answer: MISC- method of setting a threshold to control the strength of the
radiation exposure compared with the amount of noise apparent in a digital
image to minimize error
◍ Contour Lines.
Answer: Lines of equal height above or below sea level. Contours lines run
perpendicular to slope.
◍ Expression (Scripting Basics).
Answer: 802- most basic programming instruction-contains vales and
operators that can reduce to a single value
◍ Geometric Accuracy- Data Quality.
Answer: 203- how close the x-y values of a data set correspond to the actual
locations on the earth's surface
◍ GNSS User Segment.
Answer: Consists of GNSS receivers
◍ 604 When would you choose the IDW interpolation method?.
Answer: IDW will average where there is no point data and "smooth" out
the ENTIRE surface. The closer a point is to the center of the cell being
estimated, the more influence, or weight, it has in the averaging process.
Cons: It does not preserve all the data points.
◍ 602 What is Moran's Index? What does a positive/negative/zero value
mean?.
Answer: Measures spatial autocorrelation. Positive values: similar values are
clustered together. Negative values: dissimilar values are clustered together.
Zero: no spatial autocorrelation
◍ 301 Isarithmic or Isopleth.
Answer: lines of equal value are drawn or ranges of similar values are filled
with similar colors or patterns(meteorology, physical contour/elevation,
magnetism, etc) ISO = equal
