prize7-5, Exercise 3: Seeing distortion

Model answer (example observations; yours will depend on the tool and projections you use):

1. An orange peel pressed flat splits or stretches. A flat map has the same problem, so it needs cuts (interrupted maps) or stretching (Mercator).
2. On a Mercator map, a country such as Greenland looks far bigger than on a globe. Comparing it with Africa on a globe shows how much the map exaggerates high latitudes.
3. On an equal-area map, sizes look fair but shapes near the edges look squashed or stretched.
4. A projection centred on your own location changes which places look near and far. Distances from the centre are true, and distances between other places are not.

Takeaway: whenever you see a world map, ask which properties the maker chose to keep and which to give up.