Which map projection is typically used to preserve area and often distorts shape?

Which map projection is typically used to preserve area and often distorts shape?

• A. Mercator projection
• B. Robinson projection
• C. Gnomonic projection
• D. Peters projection

Answer: (D)

Preserving area means every region on the map represents its true share of the Earth's surface. The Peters projection is an equal-area map, so it keeps the sizes of landmasses proportional to reality, but to do that it distorts shapes—landmasses can look stretched or squashed, especially toward the poles. This trade-off is exactly what makes it useful when the goal is to compare how much land there is in different regions rather than how their outlines look. Other projections emphasize different things: Mercator keeps angles and shapes locally which is great for navigation but greatly inflates areas near the poles; Gnomonic focuses on straight-line paths for great circles and isn’t about area; Robinson aims for a balanced compromise rather than preserving area. So the projection that preserves area and often distorts shape is the Peters projection.

Preserving area means every region on the map represents its true share of the Earth's surface. The Peters projection is an equal-area map, so it keeps the sizes of landmasses proportional to reality, but to do that it distorts shapes—landmasses can look stretched or squashed, especially toward the poles. This trade-off is exactly what makes it useful when the goal is to compare how much land there is in different regions rather than how their outlines look. Other projections emphasize different things: Mercator keeps angles and shapes locally which is great for navigation but greatly inflates areas near the poles; Gnomonic focuses on straight-line paths for great circles and isn’t about area; Robinson aims for a balanced compromise rather than preserving area. So the projection that preserves area and often distorts shape is the Peters projection.