Quiz on Projections and Coordinates

1. What geometric shape best describes the earth?

2. Why do we treat north as "up"?


3. What are the three most common surfaces for map projections? What do we call the family of projections related to each?

4. Explain the difference between normal, transverse, and oblique projection aspects.

5. "All map projections distort something." What spatial characteristics do different projections distort more or less?

6. Some classes of projections preserve some spatial characteristic (at the expense of others). Name three classes of projections and what they preserve.

7. What is Tissot's indicatrix and what do we use if for?

8. What do we call the circle on the earth where a projection surface is just tangent to the planet's surface?

9. In this context, what is a "datum"?

9. What is geodesy?

10. How does QGIS refer to projections and coordinates systems?