Maps and Cartography

Q1. The opening claim — 'maps are not descriptions of the world, they are arguments about it' — is best supported by which of the following from the passage?

1. The fact that maps must be updated regularly to reflect changes in political boundaries
2. The fact that every map makes choices about what to include, what to centre, and how to represent, and these choices encode historical priorities
3. The fact that digital maps are more accurate than paper maps because they can be updated in real time
4. The fact that the Mercator projection was designed for navigation and fulfils that purpose well

Q2. The passage states that the Mercator projection's distortion of Africa and Greenland 'is not a mistake.' By this, the author means:

1. Cartographers were unaware that Africa was larger than Greenland when the projection was designed
2. The distortion was a deliberate choice serving the projection's navigational purpose, not an error — it becomes problematic when used for purposes other than navigation
3. All map projections produce some distortion, and the Mercator projection's distortions are no worse than others
4. The political consequences of the distortion were intended by the cartographers who designed the projection

Q3. What does the author mean by the phrase 'the map has become the territory'?

1. Digital maps have become so accurate that they are indistinguishable from reality
2. The representation of space (the route a navigation app recommends) is experienced as the reality itself, erasing awareness that it is one choice among many
3. Political maps have replaced physical maps as the primary way most people understand geography
4. The territory of a country is now defined legally by its cartographic representation rather than by physical features

Q4. Which of the following is an example of a cartographic convention described in the passage as encoding historical priorities rather than natural necessity?

1. The use of colour to distinguish different political territories on a map
2. The use of contour lines to represent elevation
3. The placement of north at the top of maps and the Greenwich meridian as zero longitude
4. The use of different scales for maps of countries versus maps of continents

Q5. The passage's argument about digital mapping is that it:

1. Has largely solved the problems of cartographic distortion by allowing dynamic, scalable representations
2. Has intensified the problem by inheriting the assumptions of paper maps while adding new ones, and by making the map appear as the territory itself
3. Has democratised cartography by allowing anyone to create and share maps
4. Has created a new problem of data privacy that is separate from the representational problems of paper maps

Q6. Which of the following best describes the author's implicit argument about the use of the Mercator projection in classrooms?

1. It should be replaced with a projection that is more accurate for all purposes
2. It is appropriate for navigation classes but misleading for geography or social studies classes where relative size and geopolitical significance matter
3. It should be accompanied by a disclaimer about its distortions
4. It has no cultural or political consequences because students understand that maps are imperfect