1st Semester Portfolio

In the first semester of this school year, we studied how people look at out planet Earth. We studied what equipment is used and how to interpret the findings that people got from it. At the very beginning of this school year and the first semester, we studied the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Then we studied how people use the Electromagnetic Spectrum in satellite images. We learned the difference between an image and a picture. Then we looked at the images that are made from satellite images and learned how to interpret them. We also studied the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Geographic Information System (GIS), and how to use them. We also looked at the Laminated Object Manufacturing models (LOM models), Digital Elevation Models (DEM), and topographic models. Then, we looked at the geography of our planet earth; we studied the longitude, latitude, and maps. Some of these maps could define the elevation, which was the topographic maps, and others could give you a better sense to what it really looked like in real life. Finally, we studied Fuller Map Projections and Mercator Maps.

Mercator Maps and Fuller Map Projections fit into the first semester's curriculum because we were studying how to look at out earth, from a distance. It is better to look at things from a distance because then one is able to look at the "big picture." One would get more information by looking at things from a distance, like planet earth. Scientists look at planet earth from satellites that orbit around it. To make a map, one would need an image, and a big one at that. To get an image of the entire earth, it needs to be taken from space (from satellites). So, all the units that we studied about at the beginning of the semester linked in to how one makes a map of the entire Earth.

Today we learned about two different kinds of maps. One of the two maps is a map that we have all come into contact with many times throughout our life. Many people may not know the name of it, but once they saw it they would remember everything. This kind of map is called a Mercator map. A Mercator map is made by taking a flat image of the earth and draping it over a circular globe. The information that is given off by the middle part of the map (around the north and south poles) have very distorted data. The size of objects near the top and bottom of the map appear to be larger than they really are. For instance, the size of Greenland on a Mercator map appear to be the same size as South America or Africa, but in real life, the size of Greenland is much smaller. To the untrained eye, one does not catch the change in the size of each latitude line. Near the equator, the latitude lines are close together, but near each of the poles, there is a lot of map space between each latitude line. The makers of each map do this to try and compensate for the distortion of the top and bottom. In the end, the data is not accurate near the two poles. In the center of this map, lies the equator. When this map was first made, it was based on the ocean and how ships could travel on its seas. This map is not satellite image. People drew it. Until just recently, this map was the best that the world had. Then a great discovery was made on how to make the best map with the least distortion.

The second map that we looked at is a highly sophisticated map. It was made in a unique way to compensate for the distortion of the data in the Mercator maps. The globe was divided up into triangles and then put back together to make sure that the procedure was correct. This map is called a Fuller Projection map. When this map is put back into a globe, the geometric term for the shape of it is "icosahedron." This creates the least amount of distortion when it is opened up. When the triangles are attached to one another with at least one side of each triangle touching another triangle, then set on a flat piece of paper, a Fuller Projection map is made. This map still has a little bit of distortion, but not nearly as much as the Mercator map. In the center of this map, lies the north pole. By having the North Pole in the center of the map, the idea of an "air world" is created. Meaning that the way people do business is by airplane, instead of boats. In real life, planes fly over the North Pole frequently. By doing this, the flight time is diminished. It is a fact of life that the world is smaller around the poles than around the equator. This means that there is a less amount of distance between the U.S.A. and Russia if you were to take a flight over the north pole than if you were to take a flight directly around the Earth while staying on the same latitudinal line. All airports use this map to schedule the shortest and best flight path for each of their flights. On this map the world is divided by day and night. When the North Pole is in the center, it appears that >all the continents are linked together in some way. On a Mercator map, the >distance between Russia and the U.S.A. seems to be a great distance, but in real life, it isn't. A Fuller Projection map shows how close the U.S.A. is to Russia. Also, this map shows that there is a lot more continental surface and less ocean than we think there is. In the Mercator map, the world seems to have only islands surrounded by huge masses of water. The Fuller Projection Map was called a map for the new millennium because it shows us things that we have never thought of before. It shows us how close each continent is to the next. This map brings up new dangers in all of our global problems. Once idea was that we cant just dump our trash in someone elses backyard, because sooner or later, it is going to come back to us and affect us, too. For instance, the global problems got bigger. Global warming got to be a bigger deal when this map was made. This map shows that anything that is anywhere on earth is going to affect us later on. China is making a new power plant everyday. This means that more and more fossil fuels are being burnt. These toxic gases are eating away at our O-zone layer. This means that Global Warming is really going on.

Today I learned a lot about the world famous Mercator map. Before today, I knew that it wasn't that great of a map, but I also learned how much distortion there really is. This year is the first time I have ever seen a Fuller Projection map. At first it seemed weird, but today I learned how valuable it really is.