Mapping our world - study guide

Cartography - science of map making

Imaginary grid of parallel and vertical lines to locate potions on Earth

Equator circles Earth separating  Earth into 2 halves

Northern hemisphere on the top

Southern hemisphere on the bottom

Latitude helps find positions north or south

Equator is reference point for latitude

Equator is 0 degrees latitude

Poles are 90 degrees latitude

Longitude helps find positions east and west

Aka: meridians

Prime meridian is reference point for longitude

Prime meridian is 0 degrees longitude

The 180 degrees meridian is the international date line

Latitude; locations north of the equator are referred to by 0-90 degrees north latitude (N)

Locations south of the equator are referred to by 0-90 south latitude (S)

Degrees are divided into minutes and seconds to determine precise positions

Longitude; locations west of prime meridian are 0-180 degrees (W)

Locations east of prime meridian are 0-180 degrees (E)

Degrees are divided into minutes and seconds to determine precise positions

Need both latitude and longitude to find positions on Earth

Earth is divided into 24 time zones (because it takes 24 hours for it rotate)

Time zones roughly correspond with lines of longitude but may be adjusted in local areas

Each time you travel through time zone you lose/gain time

If you travel across 180 degrees (international date line) , you either gain/loss a day 

Mercator projections

Has latitude and longitude

Continental shapes are correct but areas are distorted

Because they have correct shapes and straight lines they are used for navigation

Conic projections

Projects lines from a globe onto a cone

Distortion occurs but have high accuracy for small areas therefore they are used to make road maps and weather maps 

Gnomonic projections

Project lines from globe onto paper

Distort distances and directions but are used to plot long distance trips by air and sea

Topographic maps

Detailed maps showing hills and valleys of area (changes in elevation), mountains, rivers, forests, and bridges

Uses lines, symbols, and colors to represent changes in elevation and other features 

Contour lines - connects points of equal elevation showing distance above or below sea level

Contour interval - difference in elevation between 2 side-by-side contour lines

Mountain’s contour lines are very close together indicating that the land is very steep (large change in elevation between lines)

Map legend

Explains symbols on the map 

Map scales

Map scales - ratio between distances on map and actual distance on Earth

3 types of scales:

Large ratio = large area (show less detail)

Small ratio = small area (shows more detail)

Remote sensing - process of collecting data about Earth from far above Earth’s surface

Energy emitted and reflected from Earth’s surface that had both electric and magnetic properties

Satellites detect this electromagnetic radiation

This radiation is arranged according to wavelength into the electromagnetic spectrum

The wave is described by its frequency, wavelength, and speed to be used by satellites to determine position

GPS

Global Positioning System: radio-navigation system of at least 24 satellites

The signals transmitted can be used to calculate the latitude and longitude, speed, elevation, and direction

SONAR: use of sound waves to detect and measure objects underwater

Sound wave is sent from ship to ocean bottom and its echo is picked up from ship can be used to calculate distance to ocean floor 

Cartography - science of map making

Imaginary grid of parallel and vertical lines to locate potions on Earth

Equator circles Earth separating  Earth into 2 halves

Northern hemisphere on the top

Southern hemisphere on the bottom

Latitude helps find positions north or south

Equator is reference point for latitude

Equator is 0 degrees latitude

Poles are 90 degrees latitude

Longitude helps find positions east and west

Aka: meridians

Prime meridian is reference point for longitude

Prime meridian is 0 degrees longitude

The 180 degrees meridian is the international date line

Latitude; locations north of the equator are referred to by 0-90 degrees north latitude (N)

Locations south of the equator are referred to by 0-90 south latitude (S)

Degrees are divided into minutes and seconds to determine precise positions

Longitude; locations west of prime meridian are 0-180 degrees (W)

Locations east of prime meridian are 0-180 degrees (E)

Degrees are divided into minutes and seconds to determine precise positions

Need both latitude and longitude to find positions on Earth

Earth is divided into 24 time zones (because it takes 24 hours for it rotate)

Time zones roughly correspond with lines of longitude but may be adjusted in local areas

Each time you travel through time zone you lose/gain time

If you travel across 180 degrees (international date line) , you either gain/loss a day 

Mercator projections

Has latitude and longitude

Continental shapes are correct but areas are distorted

Because they have correct shapes and straight lines they are used for navigation

Conic projections

Projects lines from a globe onto a cone

Distortion occurs but have high accuracy for small areas therefore they are used to make road maps and weather maps 

Gnomonic projections

Project lines from globe onto paper

Distort distances and directions but are used to plot long distance trips by air and sea

Topographic maps

Detailed maps showing hills and valleys of area (changes in elevation), mountains, rivers, forests, and bridges

Uses lines, symbols, and colors to represent changes in elevation and other features 

Contour lines - connects points of equal elevation showing distance above or below sea level

Contour interval - difference in elevation between 2 side-by-side contour lines

Mountain’s contour lines are very close together indicating that the land is very steep (large change in elevation between lines)

Map legend

Explains symbols on the map 

Map scales

Map scales - ratio between distances on map and actual distance on Earth

3 types of scales:

Large ratio = large area (show less detail)

Small ratio = small area (shows more detail)

Remote sensing - process of collecting data about Earth from far above Earth’s surface

Energy emitted and reflected from Earth’s surface that had both electric and magnetic properties

Satellites detect this electromagnetic radiation

This radiation is arranged according to wavelength into the electromagnetic spectrum

The wave is described by its frequency, wavelength, and speed to be used by satellites to determine position

GPS

Global Positioning System: radio-navigation system of at least 24 satellites

The signals transmitted can be used to calculate the latitude and longitude, speed, elevation, and direction

SONAR: use of sound waves to detect and measure objects underwater

Sound wave is sent from ship to ocean bottom and its echo is picked up from ship can be used to calculate distance to ocean floor