PRIMARY SIX

GEOGRAPHY ILBC

Functions and Importance

of Maps

Fig.1.1 Types of Maps Key

Plate Boundary
Plate movement

1
 PRIMARY SIX
ILBC GEOGRAPHY

What are Maps?

You will learn
Maps are pictures or graph-
What maps are
about the value of maps ical representations of all or part of
the Earth’s surface and its features.
However, they are special pictures because they show only the plan
or top view of the features___ the sort of view that birds have when
they are flying in the sky. Maps are drawn on flat surfaces and are
usually smaller than the actual areas they represent.

Fig.1.2
Looking at the map
of a place is like
having a bird’s eye
view of that place
and its features.

Fig. 1.3
An ancient map of
Babylon

The Value of Maps

People have been using maps for
a very long time. A few thousand years
ago, the Egyptians had maps which
were based on travellers’ descriptions
of the places they had seen. Maps were
also used by the ancient Chinese to
help them work out their battle plans
before they went to war. Today, maps
are even more widely used. There are
several reasons why this is so.

2
 PRIMARY SIX
GEOGRAPHY ILBC

First, maps are valuable

sources of information. Maps can
provide the answers to questions
such as “Where are we?”, “How far is
it between here and there?”, “What
direction do we take to get there?”,
“What are the different ways to get
there?” and “What will we find there:
cities, roads, rivers or forests?”. When
visiting a foreign country, maps can
help us find our way to important
places such as tourist information Fig. 1.4“The map of Singapore
centres, places of interest and historic contains useful information
for tourists and can be easily
landmarks. obtained from hotels.”
Second, maps are useful ways of storing and displaying
information about the Earth’s surface. Maps are light and can be
folded such that they can be carried around easily.
Fig. 1.5 A geological map of
Singapore

Different types of information can be stored and displayed on

different maps. A relief map shows the physical features found in an
area. A weather map shows the weather patterns for an area while
a geological map shows the types of rocks in an area. Maps can
also store and display information such as vegetation and land use

3
 PRIMARY SIX
ILBC GEOGRAPHY

patterns. Not only can maps be used to present the information of

large areas and even of the whole world, they can also be used to show
detailed information on smaller areas. Street maps and topographic
maps are commonly used for this purpose.

Fig. 1.6
A topographic
map of Singapore

Third, maps are important bases for planning and decision

making. For example, during times of war, maps are invaluable to the
military, who have to plan and decide what areas to attack and the
most effective route to take. Urban planners also depend greatly on
maps to do their job of deciding where to build the different features of
the human landscape such as houses, factories, roads and railways

Fig. 1.7 a

4
 PRIMARY SIX
GEOGRAPHY ILBC

Last, maps serve us good records of landscape changes. Like

photographs, maps show the features on the Earth’s surface at a
certain point in time. When new maps of a certain area are drawn
every few years, the series of maps taken together will provide us with
the record of all the changes that have taken place. They therefore
help us keep track of what has been happening over the years. Look
at Fig 1.7 a and 1.7 b. The first is a map of an area drawn a few years
earlier. The second map shows the changes which have taken place since.

Fig. 1.7 b

Maps contain a lot of useful information that may otherwise

take pages to describe. By having the right map and using it correctly,
it is possible to obtain much information about the earth’s surface
and its features. In the next few lessons you will be introduced to the
basic elements of maps and some skills that will enable you to read
and understand maps.

Check this out !

The ancient Egyptians drew maps inside coffins to guide

the dead person’s soul to the next world. Two routes
were given, one for travelling by day and the other night.

Maps have been used for planning military campaigns

and strategy since Roman times. Sometimes these maps
are deliberately made inaccurate or with mistakes in
case they fall into the hands of enemies during a war.

5
 PRIMARY SIX
ILBC GEOGRAPHY

Recap Questions
Geological Map 1. What are maps?
A map which shows the type of 2. Why are maps
rocks in an area important?
Topographic Map
A map which shows physical and
human features in detail
Weather Map
A map which shows the weather
patterns of a certain area

You will learn What is on a Map?

about the basic elements of maps Although there are many different
what the function of these ele- types of maps, most maps have the
ments are
same basis elements. Knowing what

these elements are and their function in any map is the first step to
learning how to read maps properly.
Title

Grid Lines

Symbols and legend

Directional Indicator
Fig. 1.8

6
 PRIMARY SIX
GEOGRAPHY ILBC

Title
Like the titles of books, the title of a map states what the map shows.
It usually appears on the top of the map. On topographic maps, the title
is usually the name of the largest settlement on the map.

Grid Lines
Grid lines are a series of numbered vertical and horizontal lines
drawn on a map. They are used to locate features.

Directional Indicator
It shows where north, south, east and west lie on the map.

Symbols and Legend

Symbols are used on maps to represent the different physical or
man-made features found on the surface of the Earth. Map makers
use symbols because it is possible to fit a lot of information into a
small space by using symbols.
To know exactly what each symbol means, we have to use the
legend found on the map. It lists all the symbols used in the map,
and explains what each of them means or represents, the legend is also
called the key as it helps us unlock the information stored in maps.

Names of Features
Certain features such as settlements, roads and rivers are often
named on maps. Their names help us to identify them.

Scale
The scale shows the size of the map as compared to the actual
size of the area that the map represents. Knowing the scale will allow
us to calculate exactly how big or small a feature is on the Earth’s
surface.

7
 PRIMARY SIX
ILBC GEOGRAPHY

Types of Symbols
Symbols can be of different shapes, sizes and colours. The size
or thickness of a symbol shows the importance of a feature. A more
important symbol is usually larger and thicker. Certain colours are
frequently used to represent certain features. For example, blue is
used for features associated with water such as rivers, ponds, or
lakes while green is used for features associated with vegetation such
as forest, parks or cultivated land.

Line or linear symbols

They represent line features such as roads, railway tracks, rivers
and power lines.
Example Symbols What they represent
Road
Water course
Power Line
Point symbols
They represent point-like features such as schools, churches,
mosques and temples.
Example Symbols What they represent
Building
National monument

Area symbols
They represent features that occupy an area such as lakes and
forests. Some of these symbols look like the features they represent.
For example, trees are used to represent a forest while a small blue
irregular shape represents a lake.
Example Symbols What they represent
Lake

Plantation

8
 PRIMARY SIX
GEOGRAPHY ILBC

Abbreviations
Abbreviations may either appear beside symbols to explain what
they are, or they may appear on their own. An example of a common
abbreviation used in maps is ‘PS’ which represents a police station.

Example Symbols What they represent

Resr Reservoir
Mos Mosque
H Hotel

Height symbols
The height of places is shown on maps by contours, which are
imaginary lines joining places of the same height above or below sea
level. To show the exact height of a physical feature such as a hill
or a mountain, a trigonometrical station is normally used. This is a
circular metallic disc placed in the ground to show the specific height
of the place. On a map, a trigonometircal station is shown by the
symbol with the height above sea level written beside it.
Example Symbols What they represent
Contours

Trigonometrical station
The different elements of maps provided us with different kinds
of information. Knowing what these elements are how to make use of
them will help us obtain the information we require.
Recap Questions
1. Why are symbols used
Legend – a list of all the in maps to represent
symbols used in a map features?
together with an explanation 2. What is the legend of a map?
of what each means or 3. How are water features shown?
represents. 4. What symbol is used to represent
the height of land?
9
 PRIMARY SIX
ILBC GEOGRAPHY

Measuring Distance
A scale is a basic and necessary
element of a map because it is
impossible to draw a map the same
size as the area it represents. We
will look at how a scale is shown
on a map and how it is used.
You will learn
what a scale is
how scales are shown or represented on
maps
how to measure straight-line distance
how to measure curved distance
what small-scale and large-scale maps
are

The Scale of a Map

Maps are drawn to scale.
The scale of a map shows the
amount by which the map has
been reduced. It also shows
the relationship between
a length on a map and the
actual distance it represents
on the Earth’s surface. So, by
using the scale, it is possible
to tell how long a feature such
a road or river is, or how far Fig. 1.9 Common tools used in measuring
distances on a map
one point is from another on
the Earth’s surface.

How a Scale is shown on a Map

A scale can be shown on a map in the following ways;
As a statement
Such a scale is described in words and numbers.
1 cm represents 2 km.

This means that 1 centimetre on the map represents 2 kilometres on

the Earth’s surface.

10
 PRIMARY SIX
GEOGRAPHY ILBC
As a representative fraction

Such a scale is expressed as a ratio or a fraction.

This means that 1 centimetre on the map represents 200 000

centimetres or 2 kilometres on the ground.

As a line or linear scale

Such a scale consists of a line that is divided into units and
sub-units. A line scale is commonly used in maps because it helps
the person using the map measure distances on the map easily and
quickly. An example of a line scale is shown below.

SCALE 1:50 000

1 0 1 2 3 KILOMETRES

Check this out !

The earliest map makers were usually artists

who drew maps by hand. Modern map makers,
or cartographers, use computer technology to
draw maps.

Finding Distance on a Map

The distance between two points can be found by first
measuring the distance shown on the map and then finding out what
it represents on the Earth’s surface. The actual distance could be
in centimetres, metres or kilometres depending on the scale of the
map. It is possible to find straight-line distance as well as distance
along a curve.

11
 PRIMARY SIX
ILBC GEOGRAPHY

Measuring straight-line distance

(i) Use a ruler to measure
the length between two
points on the map.
(ii) Use the scale of the
map to find out the actual
distance on the ground.
For example, if the scale of
the map is1:10 000, then
a length of 1 centimetre on
the map means that the
distance between the two
points is 10 000 (or 0.1
kilometre or 100 metres)
on the ground.
Fig. 1.10 Measuring a straight-line distance on
a map

Another way of measuring straight-line distance is:

(i) Mark out the two points on a piece of paper and measure it against
the scale.

Measuring distance along a curve

You can also find out the distance between two points that are on
a winding road or river by using a string.

Fig. 1.11 Measuring a curve distance on a map

12
 PRIMARY SIX
GEOGRAPHY ILBC

(i) Place one end of the string at

the starting point. Hold this end
down firmly with your finger.
(ii) Use the string to follow the path
with your fingers slowly.
(iii) When you reach the end point,
use a pencil to mark on the string.
(iv) Remove the string, straighten it
and place it against the line scale
or a ruler to measure the length.
(v) Using the scale of the map,
convert the length to the actual
distance on the ground.

Small-scale and Large-scale Maps

Small-scale and Large-scale on page 13. How are they different?
You will notice that the two maps are drawn to different scales. Fig
1.12 shows a map of Carlisle drawn to the scale of 1:250 000.
This means that 1 centimetre on the map represents 2.5 kilometres
on the ground. This is a small-scale map. On such a map, we would
be able to see a large area of the Earth’s surface, but we might not be
able to see a large amount of detail such as buildings and roads.
Fig. 1.12
A small –scale map
of Carlisle drawn
to the scale of
1:250 000.

13
 PRIMARY SIX
ILBC GEOGRAPHY

Fig 1.13, however, shows Foel Fadian on a scale of 1:50 000. This
means 1 centimetre on this map represents 0.5 kilometre on the
ground. On such a map you should be able to see the details clearly.
This is a large-scale map.
Fig. 1.13,
A large scale map of
Foel Fadian with a
scale of 1:50 000.

In general, a small-scale map shows fewer detail on a large area

of the Earth’s surface while a large-scale map shows greater detail for
the same area of the Earth’s surface. Street maps and topographic
maps are examples of large-scale maps. We will learn how to locate
places on large-scale and small-scale maps in the following lessons.

Recap Questions
Large-scale map
1. What is a scale?
A map which shows a large amount 2. How is a scale
of detail on a small area of the Earth’s shown on maps?
surface. 3. List the steps you
Scale would take to measure
A scale shows the ratio between the a straight-line distance.
distance on the map and the actual 4. Explain how you
distance on the Earth’s surface. would measure a curved
distance.
Small-scale map
5. What is the difference
A map which shows a small amount between a large-scale
of detail on a large area of the Earth’s map and a small-scale
surface. map?

14