Choose the right map, and see what each projection distorts

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

2. 1.

   Ari wants to show where goods moved between ports and how much. Which map on Card A fits?

   • Map B, the choropleth, because darker shading for countries with more ports shows where goods end up
   • Map C, the dot map, because one dot can stand for a set amount of goods at each port
   • Map D, the flow map: arrows show movement and their width shows how much moves
   • Map A, the reference map, because it already shows the ports and the roads that link them to the cities
3. 2.

   Luz reads Map B and says the darkest country has the most people. What is the error?

   Use the picture in question 1.

   • Nothing is wrong, because shading on a map of people marks the places with more people living in them
   • Darker means more people per km², so a small crowded country can be darker than a large one with more people
   • The key is wrong, because it should say one dot equals 10,000 people, as on Map C does for dots
   • The darkest country must be the smallest one, because a choropleth gives its darkest shade to the smallest area
4. 3.

   Tala wants to show that a country's people cluster in a few towns instead of spreading evenly. Which map fits best?

   Use the picture in question 1.

   • Map C, the dot map: dots pile up where people cluster, while Map B shades the whole country alike
   • Map D, the flow map, because wide arrows show people moving into the towns that grow the most
   • Map B, the choropleth, because the darkest shade shows the towns where people have grouped together
   • Map A, the reference map, because the towns are labeled on it and labels show how large each town is
5. 4.

   Jun asks whether the biggest flows of goods go to the most crowded countries. Which two maps are compared?

   Use the picture in question 1.

   • Map D alone, because wider arrows already show which ports are in crowded countries
   • Map C beside Map A, because dots show the people and the reference map shows the ports they use
   • Map D beside Map A, because the reference map shows borders and cities, which is how crowded a country is
   • Map D beside Map B: the flow map shows the flows and the choropleth shows how crowded each country is

6. Read this first

   Use this

   Card B (made up for practice). A region with three districts, drawn on a dot map where one dot = 10,000 people. District X covers 70 km² and holds 35 dots. District Y covers 12 km² and holds 12 dots. District Z covers 200 km² and holds 20 dots. A choropleth key for the same region: light shading under 2,000 people per km²; medium 2,000 to 6,000; dark over 6,000.

7. 5.

   Pia reads the dot map on Card B. Which district has the most people, and which is the densest?

   • Y has the most people, because its dots are packed the closest together on the map
   • X is both, because the district with the most dots is the one with the most people per km² too
   • Z is the densest, because its 20 dots are spread over the largest district and so look the most settled
   • X has the most people (35 dots), but Y is the densest, with 12 dots on 12 km²
8. 6.

   Bo shades Card B's districts by their total number of people instead of density. Which district looks busiest, and why is that misleading?

   • X looks busiest by total, but Y is denser; totals ignore the land each district covers
   • Z looks busiest, because the largest district must hold the most people and the total shows it
   • Y looks busiest, which is misleading because it has the fewest dots on the dot map
   • X looks busiest and that is not misleading, because the district with the most people is the most crowded
9. 7.

   Milo applies Card B's choropleth key to the three districts. Which shading does each get?

   • X dark, Z medium, Y light, because shading follows the number of dots in each district
   • X medium, Y medium, Z light, because Y's 10,000 is a small step above the medium class
   • X medium, Y dark, Z light, from their densities of 5,000, 10,000 and 1,000 per km²
   • X dark, Y dark, Z light, because 5,000 is close enough to 6,000 to be rounded up into the top class

10. Use this

    Card A. Four maps on one page. Map A, a reference map, shows rivers, roads, cities and borders. Map B, a choropleth map, shades each country by its population density. Map C, a dot map, uses one dot for each 10,000 people. Map D, a flow map, draws arrows whose width shows how many goods move between ports. Key: on Map B, darker shading means more people per km²; on Map C, one dot = 10,000 people; on Map D, a wider arrow = more goods. Card B (made up for practice). A region with three districts, drawn on a dot map where one dot = 10,000 people. District X covers 70 km² and holds 35 dots. District Y covers 12 km² and holds 12 dots. District Z covers 200 km² and holds 20 dots. A choropleth key for the same region: light shading under 2,000 people per km²; medium 2,000 to 6,000; dark over 6,000.

11. 8.

    Ren counts X's 35 dots on Card B and says X has 350,000 people. What does that count give, and what does it leave out?

    • It gives the number of people, 350,000, but not density, which also needs the district's area of 70 km²
    • No, X has 35,000 people, because a dot on a dot map stands for 1,000 people
    • It gives the number of people, and also the area, because the dots fill the district to the border
    • It gives both, because the district with the most dots is also the most crowded one on the map
12. 9.

    Esme maps average yearly rainfall for each country. Which map type fits, and why not a dot map?

    • A choropleth, because rainfall is a rate for each area, like density; dots count separate things
    • A flow map, because rain moves from the sea over the land and arrows show movement
    • A reference map, because it shows rivers, which are the places where the rain has run off
    • A dot map, with one dot for each millimeter of rain, because dots can stand for any amount

13. Use this

    Card A. Four maps on one page. Map A, a reference map, shows rivers, roads, cities and borders. Map B, a choropleth map, shades each country by its population density. Map C, a dot map, uses one dot for each 10,000 people. Map D, a flow map, draws arrows whose width shows how many goods move between ports. Key: on Map B, darker shading means more people per km²; on Map C, one dot = 10,000 people; on Map D, a wider arrow = more goods. Card B (made up for practice). A region with three districts, drawn on a dot map where one dot = 10,000 people. District X covers 70 km² and holds 35 dots. District Y covers 12 km² and holds 12 dots. District Z covers 200 km² and holds 20 dots. A choropleth key for the same region: light shading under 2,000 people per km²; medium 2,000 to 6,000; dark over 6,000.

14. 10.

    Noah needs to see where the people of District X sit within the district. Which Card A map type fits, and what does it show that a choropleth cannot?

    • A flow map, because wide arrows show where people live and how far they commute
    • A choropleth, because its shade for the district shows where inside the district the people are packed
    • A reference map, because the road lines show where the dots would be and so where the people are
    • A dot map, because dots show where people sit inside a district, which one shade for the whole district cannot