6.5/10

  1. The buttons in the Layer Properties Coordinate Systems window are:
  2. Clear: remove the current Coordinate system
  3. Transformations: Transforms between the different coordinates system
  4. Modify: mod the system data like the datum, spheroid, axiz, inverse flattening, angular unit, prime meridian, etc.
  5. Import: imports other coordinate systems from other layers and other coordinates systems in general
  6. New: creates the possibility of importing or creating a new geographic coordinate system or new Project coordinate system.
  7. Favorites: add coordinate system to list of coordinate systems
  8. The state of the United Shapes have changed. Everything has shifted up and is not elongated. Alaska seems very warped.

-1 Changed from GCS North American to USA Albers Equal Area Conic; from planner to conic; GCS preserved the shape; Albers preserves the area

  1. USA_Contiguous_Albers_Equal_Area_Conic_USGS_version

Projection: Albers

False_Easting: 0.000000

False_Northing: 0.000000

Central_Meridian: -96.000000

Standard_Parallel_1: 29.500000

Standard_Parallel_2: 45.500000

Latitude_Of_Origin: 23.000000

Linear Unit: Meter

GCS_North_American_1983

Datum: D_North_American_1983

  1. The Albers Equal Area projection is an appropriate viewing of the world if the area is being examined but it warps data at either pole. The north pole is warped (shrunk) and the south is very stretched. The only other bonus is the lack of

distortion in parts of the southern hemisphere.

-1.5 It is not appropriate for viewing the entire world. It is true to area, but it distorts shape and direction.

Can be used to view one country at a time

  1. The below is a look at several different copies of the same map (the coordinate system changed because the program stopped responding and the map was not saved at the time).

For #6, -1

The Mercator map increasingly distorts the size of countries as it moves away from the equator. However, it preserves shape. The Robinson projection is only distorts area at the poles. It compromises between area and shape, but is not true to either. The sinusoidal map is an equal area map around the equator but greatly distorts the area as one gets closer to the poles.

Robinson: not a conformal or equivalent projection; average between two or more similar projections which causes the amplitude of distortion across the map not to fluctuate as much as with other projections.

Sinusoidal: presents an accurate representation of area/distance at every parallel and the central meridian

GCS: simply stretched across the screen from right to left

  1. The Difference between the four different Data Frames’ projections are where the distortion is located. In the Mercator projection all the data in the Southern Hemisphere (especially Antarctica) are distorted (Antarctica is larger than it should be and Africa is smaller than it should be). The area in the Mercator is no preserved but the general shape is. The Robinson does not preserve both shape and area (bottom left corner). The equatorial regions appear to be proportionate but the rest of the world does not have the proper shape like how South America is broadened. The Sinusoidal projection (upper right corner) distorts the entire world view in order to preserve the area. Also, the close a shape is to the pole the greater the distortion. The GCS projection system is