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Mercator Projection Facts & Worksheets

Mercator Projection is a cylindrical projection of a map in a way that all latitudes have the same length as the equator.

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A map’s depiction of the Earth’s surface is a distortion because it is attempting to fit a curved surface onto a flat sheet. This is explained by the Mercator Projection, which is a cylindrical projection of a map in a way that all latitudes have the same length as the equator. This is usually used in modern cartography, marine charts, and several maps used for climatology and meteorology.

See the fact file below for more information on the Mercator Projection or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Mercator Projection worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

GERARDUS MERCATOR

  • He was known originally as Gerard de Cremere.
  • Mr. Mercator had his graduate degree in University of Louvain in 1532.
  • He produced most of his maps in Louvain and Duisburg.
  • He was also appointed as the Court Cosmographer to Duke Wilhelm of Cleve.
  • Gerardus was charged with heresy back in 1544 due to the travels made related to his cartographic works and was jailed for 7 months.
  • He was the first one to use the term atlas.
  • Atlas is a collection of maps.
  • He also invented paper-mâché to offer a more efficient way of mass production for globes.
  • Mass produced paper engravings shaped like 12 gores were glued to hollow globes with 2 additional circular polar end caps.
  • Gores are shapes that narrow when approaching the poles.
  • Back in the day, labor-intensive processes were followed in mass-producing globes. This included engraving on solid spheres.
  • He made terrestrial and celestial globes placed in wooden stands.

HISTORY

  • The Mercator projection was developed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569.
  • When Gerardus developed the concept, top cartographers and explorers in Europe used elliptical projections.
  • The elliptical projections were derived from Ptolemy’s grid of latitude and longitude.
  • Even if these elliptical projections were accurate, it was very difficult to use for navigators and explorers because it required recalculation as they cruised.
  • The maps created before Mercator’s principle were based on Ptolemy’s principle and it displayed that every latitude and longitude degree were the same based on size.
  • This had an effect on sailor’s rhumb lines.
  • Rhumb lines are imaginary straight lines on Earth used by navigators that follow a single path of compass bearing.
  • Ptolemy’s principle affected the said rhumb lines to be curvy and navigators needed to recalculate their bearing as they steer in order to account the changes.
  • Mercator discovered that in order for the rhumb lines to remain straight, the latitude lines should be away from each other as these lines approach north and south of the Earth’s equator.
  • For him to achieve this, Mercator made a projection that retained the 90° angles between the longitude and latitude lines which resulted to a cylindrical projection.
  • The Mercator projection is not a physical projection and is not applicable to be made by using geometric tools as well.
  • However, geometric shapes on the map can be moved around without distorting the whole illustration.
  • The said property is known as conformity.
  • On the other hand, even if it conforms, the size of the shapes and the direction of lines can change when they are moved.

USES

  • The Mercator projection was mainly used for maps.
  • This made it possible for the entire globe to be drawn on a flat sheet.
  • It is also used for marine navigation since the lines of constant direction appear as straight lines on the map.
  • The Pseudo-Mercator Projection is a modification of the Mercator Projection and is used by huge web servers like Bing and Google.
  • Maps that use the Mercator projection preserve its respective angles, also called a conformal map.
  • A constant bearing is any straight line on a Mercator map.
  • This is very useful for explorers that follow a long-distance route (non-great circle route).
  • Back when sailing ships was common, since longitudes could not be determined accurately, the distance being travelled was not important and the same went for the direction taken.
  • The Mercator projection also explains that as the distance from the equator increases, the extension of the East-West distances also increase.
  • The poles display a very distorted image because these two points turn into lines at the top and bottom of the map.

CONS OF THE MERCATOR PROJECTION

  • The Mercator projection doesn’t allow the charting of angles.
  • The projection delivers a very distorted area.
  • One example is that Greenland is shown to have the same size as Africa but in reality, Africa is much bigger than Greenland.
  • Africa is shown on the map to have the same size as Europe but in reality, Africa is much larger.
  • Alaska is the same size as Brazil on the map, but Brazil is much larger in reality.
  • Antarctica appears to be the biggest continent on the map, but it is actually the fifth out the seven in terms of area.
  • Due to the great land area distortions, the projection is not suited for world maps.
  • Most modern atlases do not use the Mercator projection for world maps or for relevant areas far from the equator due to its distortions and instead use other forms of equal-area projection.
  • The distortion given by the Mercator projection near the equator is very minimal.

Mercator Projection Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Mercator Projection across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Mercator Projection worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Mercator Projection, which is a cylindrical projection of a map in a way that all latitudes have the same length as the equator. This is usually used in modern cartography, marine charts, and several maps used for climatology and meteorology.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Mercator Projection Facts
  • True or False
  • Mister Mercator
  • Correct Timeline
  • Pros and Cons
  • Map Vocabulary
  • Missing Facts
  • Projection Types
  • Cartographer Catalog
  • Making A Map
  • Life Without Maps

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Link will appear as Mercator Projection Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, May 13, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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