Exam-useful questions from this chapter, grouped by marks, each with a full model answer. Try writing the answer yourself first, then check it against this one.
1 1-Mark Questions
Q. What is a geoid?
Answer: An oblate spheroid whose shape resembles the actual shape of the Earth is called a geoid.
Q. What is a sketch?
Answer: A simplified map drawn freehand, which fails to preserve the true scale or orientation, is called a sketch.
Q. What is a map series?
Answer: A group of maps produced at the same scale, style and specifications for a country or a region is called a map series.
Q. Where was the oldest known map found, and to which period does it belong?
Answer: The oldest known map was found in Mesopotamia, drawn on a clay tablet, belonging to about 2,500 B.C.
Q. In which year was the Survey of India established?
Answer: The Survey of India was established in 1767.
Q. In which year was the map of Hindustan completed?
Answer: The map of Hindustan was completed in 1785.
Q. From which language’s word is the term ‘cadastral’ derived?
Answer: It is derived from the French word ‘cadastre’, meaning ‘register of territorial property’.
Q. What is a Rotameter used for?
Answer: A Rotameter is used to measure the distance of erratic (zigzag) lines, such as a river or a coastline.
Q. What is the line showing north direction on a map called?
Answer: The line pointing to north on a map is called the zero direction, or the base direction line.
Q. Which instrument is used for a more accurate measurement of area?
Answer: A Polar Planimeter is used for a more accurate measurement of area.
Q. How is Map Projection defined?
Answer: The system of transformation of the spherical surface onto a plane surface is called map projection.
Q. How is Scale defined?
Answer: The ratio between the distance of two points on a map, plan or photograph, and the actual distance between the same two points on the ground, is called scale.
2 2-Mark Questions
Q. Clarify the main difference between a map and a sketch.
Answer: A map is carefully drawn on the basis of scale and map projection, so that each point on the paper corresponds to the actual ground position, whereas a sketch is a simple diagram drawn freehand, without a true scale or orientation.
Q. Define Cartography.
Answer: The art, science and technology of making maps, charts, plans and other modes of graphical expression, as well as their study and use, is called cartography.
Q. In which period was the foundation of map-making laid in India, and which scholars contributed to it?
Answer: The foundation of map-making in India was laid during the Vedic period, when expressions of astronomical truths and cosmological revelations were made; these were crystallised into ‘sidhantas’, or laws, in the classical treatises of scholars such as Aryabhata, Varahamihira and Bhaskara.
Q. What was Todarmal’s and Sher Shah Suri’s contribution to Indian cartography?
Answer: Todarmal pioneered land surveying and map-making as an integral part of the revenue collection procedure, while Sher Shah Suri’s revenue maps further enriched mapping techniques during the medieval period.
Q. How did aerial photography influence cartography?
Answer: Aerial photography supplemented the ground method of survey, and its use stimulated map-making further in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Q. For what purpose are cadastral maps made?
Answer: Cadastral maps are prepared by government agencies to show the ownership of landed property, by demarcating field boundaries and house plans, so as to keep a record of ownership and realise revenue and taxes.
Q. What are the main features of a wall map?
Answer: A wall map is drawn on a large sheet of paper or on a plastic base, used in classrooms or lecture halls, and its scale is generally smaller than that of a topographical map but larger than that of an atlas map.
Q. What is a cultural map? Give two examples.
Answer: A map showing man-made features is called a cultural map; for example, a political map and a population map.
3 4-Mark Questions
Q. Describe the five essentials of map making.
Answer: The five essentials of map making are: (1) Scale, which sets the limits of information content on the map; (2) Map Projection, the system of transformation of the spherical surface onto a plane surface; (3) Map Generalisation, that is, simplifying the map’s content according to its purpose; (4) Map Design, that is, planning the symbols, colours, lettering and line widths; (5) Map Construction and Production, that is, drawing the map and reproducing it, now revolutionised by computer-assisted mapping.
Q. Explain, with examples, the classification of maps based on scale.
Answer: On the basis of scale, maps are classified into large-scale and small-scale maps. Large-scale maps show small areas at a large scale, such as cadastral maps (1:500 to 1:4,000) and topographical maps (1:250,000, 1:50,000, 1:25,000). Small-scale maps show large areas, such as wall maps and atlas maps, which present information in a highly generalised form.
Q. How are maps classified on the basis of function? Give two examples each of physical and cultural maps.
Answer: On the basis of function, maps are classified into physical maps and cultural maps. Physical maps show natural features, such as relief maps and climatic maps. Cultural maps show man-made features, such as political maps and population maps.
Q. Describe the different methods of measuring distance on a map.
Answer: Linear features on a map fall into two categories: straight lines and erratic (zigzag) lines. The distance of straight-line features such as roads and railway lines is measured directly with a pair of dividers or a scale placed on the map. The distance of erratic features such as coastlines and rivers is measured by laying a thread along the path and then stretching and measuring it, or by using a simple instrument called a Rotameter, whose wheel is rolled along the route.
4 6-Mark Questions
Q. Give a detailed explanation of the types of maps.
Answer: Maps are mainly classified on two bases. (1) On the basis of scale: large-scale maps, which include cadastral maps (1:500-1:4,000, for land ownership and revenue) and topographical maps (at 1:250,000/1:50,000/1:25,000, showing relief, drainage, settlements etc.); and small-scale maps, which include wall maps (for classroom use) and atlas maps (highly generalised information about the world/continent/country). (2) On the basis of function: physical maps, which show natural features, such as relief maps (mountains, plains, plateaus), geological maps (rock structure), climatic maps (temperature, rainfall) and soil maps; and cultural maps, which show man-made features, such as political maps (administrative divisions), population maps (distribution and density), economic maps (crops, minerals, industries) and transportation maps (roads, railways, airports). In this way, every map presents a different kind of information according to its own scale and purpose.
Q. Describe the historical development of cartography in India from the Vedic period to the establishment of the Survey of India.
Answer: Map-making in India began as early as the Vedic period, when efforts were made towards astronomical truths and cosmological revelations. These expressions were crystallised into definite forms of ‘sidhantas’, or laws, in the classical treatises of scholars such as Aryabhata, Varahamihira and Bhaskara. Ancient Indian scholars divided the whole world into seven ‘dwipas’, and the Mahabharata conceived a round world surrounded by water. In the medieval period, Todarmal made land surveying and map-making an integral part of the revenue collection procedure, and Sher Shah Suri’s revenue maps further enriched cartography. The Survey of India was established in 1767 for the intensive topographical survey of the entire country, which culminated in the map of Hindustan in 1785. Today, the Survey of India produces maps of the entire country at various scales.
5 Case Studies
(A) 2 marks NCERT’s formula is Area = (Sum of whole squares + Sum of partial squares ÷ 2) × Map Scale. Using its first part, find the total number of square-equivalent units.
Answer: Total square-equivalent units = 42 + (18/2) = 42 + 9 = 51 square-equivalent units.
(B) 2 marks Find the actual area of this shape in sq km (taking each square as 0.25 sq km).
Answer: Actual area = 51 x 0.25 sq km = 12.75 sq km.
(C) 2 marks State one limitation of this method, and one more accurate alternative to it.
Answer: This method is approximate, because taking a partial square as exactly half is not always accurate; a more accurate alternative is the fixed-area polar planimeter, which calculates the area directly by measuring the movement of a rod.