Grade 6 · Social Studies · Lesson 9

Map projections and distortion

Earth is a sphere, but maps are flat. Whenever cartographers take the curved surface of the globe and stretch it onto a piece of paper, they have to make choices — and every choice creates some kind of distortion. A flat map can preserve shapes, OR sizes, OR distances, OR directions — but it can never preserve all of these at the same time. The mathematical method used to flatten Earth is called a map projection.

What this lesson teaches

1Explain why every flat map of Earth must distort something
2Compare the Mercator, Robinson, Peters, and Goode's Homolosine projections
3Identify which property each projection preserves or distorts
4Match a real-world use case to the projection that best fits it

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