CONS 127 Midterm Test Questions with Correct Answers Latest Update 2025-2026
horizontal lines
angle that describes the north south position - Answers Latitude
vertical lines
angle that describes the east west position - Answers Longitude
Greenwich
origin of the measures of longitude (0 degrees of longitude) - Answers Prime Meridian
circle connecting all locations with a given latitude - Answers Parallel
sphere, ellipsoid, geoid - Answers 3 ways the earth's shape can be mathematically defined
geoid - Answers The only correct representation of the Earth's surface
allows for comparing the surfaces of the Earth within the map, since the areas of the continents
are accurate
the shapes of the continents are distorted
ex. Mollweide or Gall-Peters - Answers Equivalent projection + example
the angles between positions are preserved so that ships can navigate from place to place and
know how far it is going to be from where they are
land area is distorted
ex. Mercator - Answers Conformal projection + example
mercator projection is not an equal-area projection and distorts the relative size of landmasses,
exaggerating the poles - Answers Considering the case of Africa and Greenland, describe how
, map projections might influence the perspective of the map viewer?
one ten-millionth the size from the length of the equator to the North Pole - Answers How was
the metre first defined?
defined as the length that light travels in a fraction of a second - Answers How is the metre
defined now?
1 micrometre - Answers The name of the unit that is equal to 1000nm
covers a more area, but with not as much as detail - Answers Small scale map
covers a small area but with great detail and accuracy - Answers Large scale map
bar scale
ratio scale - Answers Two ways scale can be indicated on a map
1:2000 (large scale... ) is suitable for a neighborhood and the smaller the scale gets it gets, the
more suitable it is for covering extensive landmasses. Scale of 1:2,500,000 shrinks things to be
the so small, its used to cover very large extents - Answers What kind of map scale would be
appropriate for representing large countries and/or continents? For a city? For a neighbourhood?
microscopes, telescopes and satellites - Answers 3 devices that can measure distances at
different scales
when you give someone directions by using where the location is close to, street names,
addresses, etc.
also called dead-reckoning - Answers Relative positioning
using latitude, longitude and/or coordinates to show where a location is
also called position fixing - Answers Absolute positioning
a way of mapping the Earth's surface
give us accurate information on their relative and absolute position, and by triangulation, the
points are used to find other points - Answers Geodetic marker
Latitude is easier to calculate because you can use the stars to measure your position -
horizontal lines
angle that describes the north south position - Answers Latitude
vertical lines
angle that describes the east west position - Answers Longitude
Greenwich
origin of the measures of longitude (0 degrees of longitude) - Answers Prime Meridian
circle connecting all locations with a given latitude - Answers Parallel
sphere, ellipsoid, geoid - Answers 3 ways the earth's shape can be mathematically defined
geoid - Answers The only correct representation of the Earth's surface
allows for comparing the surfaces of the Earth within the map, since the areas of the continents
are accurate
the shapes of the continents are distorted
ex. Mollweide or Gall-Peters - Answers Equivalent projection + example
the angles between positions are preserved so that ships can navigate from place to place and
know how far it is going to be from where they are
land area is distorted
ex. Mercator - Answers Conformal projection + example
mercator projection is not an equal-area projection and distorts the relative size of landmasses,
exaggerating the poles - Answers Considering the case of Africa and Greenland, describe how
, map projections might influence the perspective of the map viewer?
one ten-millionth the size from the length of the equator to the North Pole - Answers How was
the metre first defined?
defined as the length that light travels in a fraction of a second - Answers How is the metre
defined now?
1 micrometre - Answers The name of the unit that is equal to 1000nm
covers a more area, but with not as much as detail - Answers Small scale map
covers a small area but with great detail and accuracy - Answers Large scale map
bar scale
ratio scale - Answers Two ways scale can be indicated on a map
1:2000 (large scale... ) is suitable for a neighborhood and the smaller the scale gets it gets, the
more suitable it is for covering extensive landmasses. Scale of 1:2,500,000 shrinks things to be
the so small, its used to cover very large extents - Answers What kind of map scale would be
appropriate for representing large countries and/or continents? For a city? For a neighbourhood?
microscopes, telescopes and satellites - Answers 3 devices that can measure distances at
different scales
when you give someone directions by using where the location is close to, street names,
addresses, etc.
also called dead-reckoning - Answers Relative positioning
using latitude, longitude and/or coordinates to show where a location is
also called position fixing - Answers Absolute positioning
a way of mapping the Earth's surface
give us accurate information on their relative and absolute position, and by triangulation, the
points are used to find other points - Answers Geodetic marker
Latitude is easier to calculate because you can use the stars to measure your position -
