Question at position 2 Social Explorer uses a conformal projection for its maps called “web Mercator,” which is based on the classic Mercator projection. Look at an equal-area projection of the Earth and a web Mercator projection of the Earth. Which projection is better for mapping population density?A Mercator projection is better for mapping population density because the apparent shape of two similar areas will be roughly the same.An equal-area projection is better for mapping population density because the apparent size of two similar areas will be roughly the same.Either projection is fine because Social Explorer is a web-based map and does not have the same challenges as a traditional paper map.

Question

Question at position 2 Social Explorer uses a conformal projection for its maps called “web Mercator,” which is based on the classic Mercator projection. Look at an equal-area projection of the Earth and a web Mercator projection of the Earth. Which projection is better for mapping population density?A Mercator projection is better for mapping population density because the apparent shape of two similar areas will be roughly the same.An equal-area projection is better for mapping population density because the apparent size of two similar areas will be roughly the same.Either projection is fine because Social Explorer is a web-based map and does not have the same challenges as a traditional paper map.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

An equal-area projection preserves area, so it is the correct choice for mapping population density.

Relevant concepts: population density is defined as number of people per unit area (e.g., people/km²). A map projection can preserve shapes (conformal) or preserve areas (equal-area), but not both globally. Web Mercator (a conformal projection) preserves local angles and shapes but systematically distorts area—especially at high latitudes—making regions nearer the poles appear much larger than they really are. An equal-area projection keeps the true relative sizes of regions on the map.

Step-by-step reasoning:
1. Population density requires accurate area information because density = population / area. If mapped areas are distorted, visual comparisons or spatial analyses that depend on area will be misleading.
2. Web Mercator exaggerates the apparent area of high-latitude regions (e.g., Greenland looks similar in size to Africa on Mercator, yet Africa is about 14 times larger). If a density map were judged by the visual area of polygons, this distortion would create false impressions of density distribution.
3. An equal-area projection keeps the proportional areas of regions correct on the map, so choropleth colors or area-based symbols will accurately reflect population per unit area.

Why the correct answer is correct: Because equal-area projections make mapped areas proportional to true areas on the globe, population per unit area comparisons are meaningful and not biased by projection-induced area distortion.

Why the other options are incorrect:
- The Mercator option is wrong because preserving shape does not preserve area; shape preservation does not prevent misleading density interpretation due to area distortion.
- The “Either projection is fine” option is wrong because being web-based doesn’t eliminate projection distortions; web maps using Web Mercator still distort area and can misrepresent densities.

Conclusion: An equal-area projection is better for mapping population density because the apparent size of two similar areas will be roughly the same. This matches the provided correct answer.

Similar Questions

Question at position 9 The Goode's homolosine map (pictured below or picture A on z.umn.edu/geog1502pics) is an example of what kind of projection? interrupted projection. planar projection.

Question at position 7 A map with an equivalent projection preserves the property ofarea.distance.scale.shape.

Question at position 6 Flattening a globe to two-dimensions involves compression.TrueFalse

The following is what type of projection:

Equal-area projections do not show mapped areas in correct proportion to one another.

Conformal projections preserve shape and angle, but strongly distort are in a process.

Based on discussions in class, what kind of shape was the globe likely projected onto in this projection?

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