I&S Exam - Maps

• Maps provide insights into time, place and space and show how the world has changed over time, but they can be affected by different perspectives.
• Maps are visual representations of specific areas; they come in many different forms, shapes and sizes. They are used to communicate information about the location and look of the different things within that specific area.
• Cartography


  The study of maps and the work involved in creating them
• Cartographers


  People who make maps
• Different types of maps

  • Road maps
  • Political maps
  • Topographic maps
  • Aerial maps
  • Population maps
  • Elevation/relief maps
• Scale


  Allows you to understand the size of a particular area in real life. The scale tells you the level of reduction that the map shows in comparison to real life.
• Calculating distance on a map

  1. Measure the distance between places on the map

  2. Use the scale to calculate the actual distance on the ground
• Symbols on a map

  Placed together in a key to show their different meanings
• Grid references


  Refer to a specific position on a map. Can be four-figure or six-figure.
• Four-figure grid references


  Locate the object along the horizontal axis, then along the vertical axis
• Six-figure grid references


  Imagine each box is divided into ten parts, go along the horizontal axis first and then up the vertical axis
• Contour lines


  Used to indicate areas of land that have the same height. Show the variation in the height of the land (relief).
• Contour lines can also be used to measure depth on oceanic maps.
• Contour lines


  Lines used to indicate areas of land that have the same height
• Contour lines


  • They give a clear indication of how steep or how flat land is in a particular area
  • The distance between the contour lines is called the contour interval and this will be the same for the whole map
• Relief


  Variation in the height of the land
• Contour lines can be used to measure depth and they can be used on oceanic maps, which chart the depths of the seabed
• How is height represented on a map


  Use of contour lines
• Maps provide a range of insights into different locations and they can deepen our understanding of time, place and space
• Time


  • Historic maps can help us to see what locations would have looked like at different times in the past
  • Maps can also be created of future planned developments
• Place


  • Maps give a detailed understanding of place by showing the different features of the location
  • The use of a key on a map provides a range of details about the place that can be quickly understood
• Space


  • Maps provide an insight into space through the use of scale, direction and elevation
  • Scale allows the reader of the map to be able to interpret the map to understand the actual distance on the ground
  • Direction allows the reader of the map to understand the orientation of certain features in a location or in which direction to travel to get from one place to another
  • The elevation provides an insight into the land height as well as other physical features such as the height above sea level, or the amount of flat land
• Bias is a term used to describe information that seems to take a particular side or viewpoint
• Maps are less likely to have bias but may be affected by a variety of factors during their creation; for example, the information available; the purpose of the map; any political considerations
• Maps sometimes have to show disputed borders between nations; this is often a problem for cartographers
• Biased sources of information are still very useful and they can provide an important insight into a particular viewpoint
• Maps can also be affected by political issues or disputes; for example, disputed borders between two or more countries
• Maps can also be created to suit a nation's interests so may be less accurate in terms of the information that is presented
• Borders are political boundaries that separate countries, states, provinces, counties, cities, and towns
• Borders change over time due to reasons like violence, peaceful trade/sale of land, or international agreements after wars
• Borders sometimes fall along natural boundaries like rivers or mountain ranges
• Maps can be affected by a range of perspectives, so we need to consider their representation carefully
• Maps can also be affected by political issues or disputes, and can be created to suit a nation's interests