Answers to Sample Questions

Question 1

Answer: D. flattened orange peel

Category: 1 Cartography

Authority: William Huxhold

 

Question 2

Answer: A. meridians converge at the pole

Category: 1 Cartography

Authority: adapted from surveyor licensing exam sample question by George Cole

 

Question 3

Answer: C. "It depends on what you mean by the word 'is'." - Bill Clinton

Category: 2 Cognitive Science

Authority: Alan Saalfeld

 

Question 4

Answer: B. avulsion

Category: 4 Land Surveying

Authority: adapted from surveyor licensing exam sample question by George Cole

 

Question 5

Answer: c. Ozosphere

Category: 5 Environmental Sciences

Authority: Handy Geography Answer Book, Matthew Rosenberg, p71

Explanation: In order the layers are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.

 

Question 6

Answer: A. Mount Chimbrazo in the Andes

Category: 7 Geography

Authority: Harlan Onsrud - drawing from numerous sources

Explanation: Mount Everest has the greatest height above sea level at 8,850 meters (i.e. above the geoid). Mauna Kea is the earth's tallest mountain as measured from base to peak. This volcanic island in the Hawaiian chain rises 10,203 meters from the seafloor. Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa's tallest mountain and is often considered to be the largest free-standing mountain as measured by its mass above the geoid even though its elevation above sea level is only 5,897 meters. Vinson Massif is the highest point in Antarctica at 16,860 feet above sea level. Mount Chimbrazo in South America stands at a height above sea level of 6,310 meters which makes it much shorter than Mount Everest. However, it is at a latitude of 1.5 degrees south of the equator. Due to the bulging of the earth near the equator, the crest of Mount Chimbrazo is 6,384,458 meters above the center of mass of the earth (i.e. "earth center") while the crest of Mount Everest is only 6,382,266 meters above earth center. Looking at it this way, Mount Chimbrazo is 1.36 miles higher than Mount Everest!

 

Question 7

Answer: C. They use the same XY-coordinate for display purposes.

Category: 8 GIS

Authority: William Huxhold

 

Question 8

Answer: B. Owen Manning

Category: 9 Landscape Architecture

Authority: Lynda Wayne

Explanation: source, Steinitz, C. (1979) 'Defensible Processes for Regional Landscape Design', Landscape Architecture Technical Information Series (LATIS), Washington DC, American Society of Landscape Architects. (Owen Manning, 1923)

 

Question 9

Answer: E. all of the above

Category: 10 Law, Information Policy

Authority: Harlan Onsrud

 

Question 10

Answer: A. 1 inch = 400 feet

Category: 11 Remote Sensing and Digital Photogrammetry

Authority: adapted from surveyor licensing exam sample question by George Cole

 

Question 11

Answer: D. automated mapping

Category: 12 Statistics, Geostatistics and Spatial Analysis

Authority: William Huxhold

 

Question 12

Answer: B. Joe Lobley

Category: 13 History of GIScience and UCGIS, & Odds and Ends

Authority: Michael Goodchild

Explanation: Quote found on page 19 of Volume 1 (1999 Edition) of "Geographical Information Systems: Principles, Techniques, Management and Applications" (New York: Wiley) Edited by P.A. Longley, M.F. Goodchild, D.J. Maguire, and D.W. Rhind. Note by HJO: Joe Lobley is a made-up personality (i.e. a psydonym used by Mike Goodchild) and also the middle names of Brian Berry.