HISET Social Studies Practice

Why do distortions increase on a Mercator map as you move away from the equator?

1. Because lines of longitude and latitude are straight and parallel

2. Because it does not account for the Earth's curvature

3. Because it focuses only on political boundaries

4. Because it displays economic data

The correct answer is: Because it does not account for the Earth's curvature

The correct answer highlights a critical aspect of the Mercator projection. The Mercator map is a cylindrical projection that represents the Earth's surface in a way that translates its three-dimensional curvature into a two-dimensional plane. This projection preserves angles, making it useful for navigation, but it does not accurately maintain scale or area as one moves away from the equator. As you go further north or south from the equator, the distortion of land masses becomes increasingly pronounced. For example, Greenland appears much larger than it actually is when compared to more equatorial regions like Africa. This phenomenon occurs because the Mercator projection stretches distances to maintain straight lines for navigational purposes, leading to significant exaggerations near the poles. Understanding this helps clarify why the other options do not correctly address the issue of distortion. The focus on political boundaries, the display of economic data, and the fact that latitude and longitude lines are parallel do not directly relate to the root cause of distortion, which fundamentally stems from the projection's failure to represent the Earth's curvature accurately.