Lab 4 part 3

1. An ellipsoid, or spheroid, is an m mathematical surface defined by revolving an ellipse around its minor (polar) axis. It differs from a sphere because it has a bulge in the middle, the Earths orbit is an ellipsoid.

2. Latitude and Longitude lines are know as the Cartesian Coordinate System

3. The geographic North Pole is where the lines of longitude converge at the top of the globe. Magnetic north is where our compasses point to and is the axis of the Earth rotation

4. Datums are important because are 3-D frames of reference used to determine surface locations or it orientation with lines of latitude and longitude. They are created through geodetic surveying and monument points.

5. Map Projections are the transformation of coordinate locations from the earth’s curved surface onto flat maps.

6. A developable surface it is "surface" that can be flattened onto a plane without distortion

7. Lines of Longitude run north-south

8. Clarke 1866 would be great for modeling N. America because its for local areas

9. The best coordinate system for mapping countries and large areas is the Universal Transverse Mercator System or UTM. It is a global coordinate system which is better for areas spanning large regions.

10. The great circle distance is the shortest distance between any two points on the surface of a sphere measured along a path on the surface of the sphere