Cena, Nio Mar B.

BSCE 4 CE 421G 10:30 -11:30 AM M

Chapter 2 Engr. Janice B. Jamora

1. Describe the three levels of approximation of the shape and size of the Earth for
GIS applications.

1) Sphere it is the simplest model used in map projections but with least
accuracy since it approximates the earth as perfectly round.

2) Spheroid/Ellipsoid it is more accurate approximation since the major

and minor axis along with the equator were taken into account. It approximates the
earth as wider along the equator than between the poles.

3) Geoid The closest approximation since in this model, it depicts the

irregularities of Earths surface and density. Due to the irregularities, the geoid has
an irregular shape.

2. Why is the datum important in GIS?

The datum is important in GIS since without it, you wont be able to calculate
the geographic coordinates of a location. It works just like an origin, it serves as the
reference or your base.

3. Describe two common datums used in the United States. How about the
Philippines?

Two common datums used in the United States are GRS80 and NAD83. Both
are geocentric datums which mean that they are Earth-centered datums. The
common datums used in the Philippines PRS 92 and Luzon1911 for the Philippines.

4. Explain the importance of map projection.

Through map projection, one can transform the Earths surface to a plane. So
basically it displays a 3 dimensional information into 2 dimensions thus two
dimensional maps may be used in your works instead of a globe.

5. Describe the four types of map projections by the preserved properly.

1) Conformal projection preserves local angles and shapes

2) Equidistant projection represents areas in correct relative size

3) Azimuthal projection maintains consistency of scale along certain lines

4) Cylindrical projection retains certain accurate direction

6.Describe the three types of map projections by the projection or developable
surface.

1) A cylindrical projection uses a cylinder as the projection or developable

surface. The cylinder can touch the globe along a line of latitude (normal case), a line
of longitude (transverse case), or another line (oblique case).

2) A conic projection uses a cone placing it over the globe but cuts through
the surface. Projections this often have lesser distortions

3) An azimuthal projection uses a plane. The plane can touch the globe at the
pole, the equator, or another line.

7. Explain the difference between the standard line and the central line.

A standard line refers to the line of tangency between the projection surface
and the reference globe. In other words, there is no projection distortion along a
standard line while the central lines (i.e., the central parallel and meridian) define
the center of a map projection.

8. How is the scale factor related to the principal scale?

Scale factor is the normalized local scale, defined as the ratio of the local size
to the principal scale. The scale factor is defined as the ratio of the local scale to the
principal scale. In other words, the scale factor is the normalized local scale.

9. Name two commonly used projected coordinate system that are based on the
transverse Mercator projection.

1) Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid system

2) State Plane Coordinate (SPC) system.

10 Explain how a UTM zone is defined in terms of its central meridian, standard
meridian, and scale factor.

A UTM zone represents a secant case transverse Mercator projection. The

Standard meridians are placed 180 km west and east of the central meridian with the
scale factor of 0.9996 at the central meridian and the equator is the latitude of origin.
Each UTM zone covers 6 degrees of longitude and extends from 84 degrees north to
80 degrees south.

11. Describe how on-the-fly projection works

It is designed for displaying data sets that are based on different coordinate
systems. Data sets are automatically converted to the coordinate system denoted by
the first data set in display.
Cena, Nio Mar B. BSCE 4 CE 421G 10:30 -11:30 AM M

Engr. Janice B. Jamora

Chapter 3

1.Name the three types of simple features used in GIS and their geometric properties

1) A point feature which is made of a point or a set of separate points. It has

zero dimension and has only the property of location.

2) A line is one-dimensional and has the property of length. It is composed of

two endpoints and points in between to mark the shape of the line.

3) A polygon is two-dimensional and has the properties of area, perimeter,

and location. It is made of connected, closed, nonintersecting line segments.
Examples of polygon features include timber stands, land parcels, and water bodies.

2. Explain the importance of topology in GIS.

Topology is important in GIS since it ensures the quality of the data and that
the lines should meet perfectly while polygons are closed properly. It can enhance
certain types of analysis such as geocoding and traffic volume analysis.

3. What are the main advantages of using shapefiles?

First advantage of using shapefiles is that this file structure draws way faster
than coverage does. It can display more rapidly on the computer monitor and they
can be used across different software packages.

4. Explain the difference between the georelational data model and the object-based
data model.

Georelational data model stores geometries and attributes separately and the
two components must be synchronized so that they can be queried, analyzed and
displayed in unison whereas the object-based data model stores both the spatial and
attribute data of spatial features in a single system rather than a split system. The
object-based data model allows a spatial feature (object) to be associated with a set
of properties and methods.

5. Describe the difference between the geodatabase and the coverage in terms of the
geometric representation of spatial features.

The difference between the two models lies mainly in the composite features
of regions and routes.In terms of the geometric representation of spatial features,
geodatabase uses points, polylines and polygons to represent vector-based spatial
features while coverage uses the arc-node topology which consists of polygons, arcs,
nodes, label points and tics.
6. Explain the relationship between the geodatabase, feature dataset, and feature
class.

Geodatabase, feature dataset, and feature class form a hierarchical structure.

A geodatabase can contain one or more feature datasets, a feature class stores
spatial features of the same geometry type, and a feature dataset can store one or
more feature classes that share the same coordinate system and area extent.

7. Feature dataset is useful for data management. Can you think of an example in
which you would want to organize data by feature?

An example I think would be the data about soil classifications on that area or
maybe the depth of the water bodies.

8. Explain the difference between a personal geodatabase and a file geodatabase

The difference between the two is mainly their database size limit. A personal
geodatabase has a 2-GB database size limit while file geodatabase has no overall
database size limit and can work across platforms, mdb and gdb are their extension
when data are stored respectively.

9. What is ArcObjects?

ArcObjects collection of objects and classes which provides services to

support geographic information system (GIS) applications.

10. What is an interface.

An interface represents a set of externally visible operations of an object. To

use the properties and methods of an object, we work through an interface that has
been implemented on the object.
Cena, Nio Mar B. BSCE 4 CE 421G 10:30 -11:30 AM M

Chapter 4 Engr. Janice B. Jamora

1. What are the basic elements of the raster data model?

1)Cell Value

2)Cell Size

3)Raster Bands

4)Spatial Reference

2. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of raster data model versus the vector
data model.

Rasters have fixed cell locations, but cannot display the precise locations of
spatial features.

3. Name two examples each for the integer rasters and floating-point rasters.

Interger rasters: Land cover raster and wildlife habitat raster

Floating-point rasters: Precipitation and Elevation

4. Explain the relationship between cell size, raster data resolution, and raster
representation of spatial features.

The cell size determines the rasters resolution thus also determines how
spatial features are represented in the raster. A smaller cell size means a higher
resolution and greater quality in representing spatial features such as forests,
pasture, and water in a cell.

5.You are given the following information on a 30-meter DEM:

*UTM coordinates in meters at the lower-left corner: 560635, 4816399

*UTM coordinates in meters at the upper-right corner: 570595, 4830380 How many
rows does the DEM have? How many columns does the DEM have? What are the UTM
coordinates at the center of the (row 1, column 1) cell?

Number of Rows (y) =(4830380 - 4816399)/30 =466 rows

Number of Columns (x) = (570595 - 560635)/30 = 332 columns

6. Describe three common methods for producing DEMS.

 1) Stereoplotter and aerial photographs with overlapped areas which creates
a 3D model used to compile elevation data.

2) Interpolating a DEM from the contour lines of a topographic map

3) Using remotely sensed data in generating DEMS using High-resolution
satellite imagery

7. How does NED 1/3 arc-second differ from NED 1 arc-second in terms of spatial
resolution and vertical accuracy?

NED 1/3 arc-second has approximately 10 meters, while NED with DEMs at a
resolution of 1 arc-second is approximately 30 meters. It is known that NED 1/3 arc-
second has a higher resolution since it has smaller distance. It also has vertical
accuracy of +/- 7 meters which is better than the NED 1 arc-second.

8. Use a diagram to explain how the run-length encoding method works?

9. Explain the difference between lossless and lossy compression methods.

A lossless compression method allows the original raster or image to be

precisely reconstructed while a lossy compression method cannot reconstruct fully
the original image but can achieve high-compression ratios.

10. What is vectorization?

Vectorization refers to the conversion of raster data into vector data.

11. Use an example from your discipline and explain the usefulness of integrating
vector and raster data.

A good example of the usage of integrating vector and raster would be for the
hydrologic analysis such as watershed delineation. One can save a lot of time and
effort in connecting different elevations in a certain location.