When we are exploring maps our students sometimes they forget that the world they’re looking at on a flat screen has been distorted so that they can see all of the countries straight on. This distortion to maps is called Mercator Projection.
When we put the equator in the center of the map in the horizontal center of the map the north and south poles are the most distorted.
To understand relative size from one place to another we can use My Maps and some of the tools therein to create polygons and then drag those polygons from one original place over that of another. The polygon will resize accordingly, demonstrating true relational size from one land mass to another.
By pairing a polygon activity with the right questions we can inspire our students to think differently about global communities, about global economy, about how we can affect other places in the world, and vice versa.
Here a number of comparisons from which you can facilitate conversations in your classroom. A link to get this map is at the end of this post.
Below is a map with Spain in her normal position, and then a second map showing the Spain polygon dragged toward the north pole. The distortion shown can help students understand real proportion better.
Lining countries and/or states next to each other allows for students to draw conclusions and inferences about maps, area and perimeter, and then take it further and explore ideas of cause/effect, demographic ramifications, and other data visualizations, while viewing polygon comparisons.
Here is the United States and Russia polygons dragged alongside and on top of Brazil for comparison.
When dragged to sit next to Texas, the Alaska polygon shrinks from being dragged toward the equator. We now see Texas and Alaska that are not as different as they appear at normal viewing of a map.
In the view on the left below, the Greenland polygon is in its home position, but in the image on the right, it has been dragged toward the equator showing the distortion lessening and giving a better sizing of the country. A student could quickly synthesize that the Democratic Republic of Congo is about the same size as Greenland when they are put side by side.
So, how can we do this in our own classrooms?
Open a new my map from Google Drive. Go to the toolbar the top center and choose draw a line or shape option. In this instance I’m going to draw Australia.
Once Australia is done I can then click to activate that polygon and drag it over another portion of the world.
By dragging the polygon around the world it will automatically resize according to the distortion caused by the Mercator projection. Students can now see the relative size of Australia to other places such as Russia, China, United States, or Brazil. And this is where asking questions gets fun.
- How do you think Australia could use its geographical size as a strength as a major world power?
- If Brazil has the rain forest, and America has technology and automobiles as a few of its major industries, what is the major economy coming out of Australia?
- How you do you think Australia’s shorelines stay protected?
By having our kids test out mercator projection using My Maps and drawing polygons can help them understand spacial relationships – which in turn helps them have a greater understanding of various current events, global economic issues, and natural resource considerations.
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