Surveying in Architecture (ARCG112)

Quiz Lecture 2 - Maps Vs Plans

Dr. Joao Pinelo Silva, Assistant Professor

Question 1

What is the main common aspect between maps and plans?

  1. They are both schematics of geographical features
  2. They are both drawings, with or without scale, of geographical and other physical features
  3. They are both fictitious
  4. They are both representations on paper of geographical and other physical features

Remember:

  • Maps and plans always have scale;
  • Maps and plans represent geographical and or other features of the built environment;
  • Maps can also represent, for example, demographic and socio-economic indicators, such as population, income, or literacy.

Maps and plans should not be described as schematics, because they tend to be comprehensive, and are to scale. Maps and plans include more than geographical features. Maps and plans are always to scale, though maps have elements which are not true-to-scale. They are not ficticius, but they could evetually represent ficticius environments.

Question 2

Which of the following is a difference between maps and plans?

  1. Plans are smaller than maps
  2. Maps are smaller than plans
  3. On maps, all features are represented true-to-scale
  4. On plans, all features are represented true-to-scale
  • Maps tend to represent very large portions of territory and therefore use smaller scales.
  • It is physically difficult to represent smaller objects in large scale, therefore in certain cases, symbols are used in place of accurate representations of their shape and size.

Since maps tend to cover larger portions of territory, and therefore use smaller scales, it is often necessary to represent objects as symbols, rather than accurate representations of their shape and size. One might, for example, see a building represented by a colored star or cross, or a circumference with a dot in the center to representing a water-well, or a local road represented by a yellow line. These simplifications of reality mean that the locations of the objects are still correct, but their size and shape are not. On a map, one can, for example, measure accurately the length of a road, but not its width. On plans, on the other hand, features are always represented true-to-scale; which means with their real shape and size.

Question 3

Which of the following ratios represents a smaller scale?

  1. 1:100
  2. 1: 1,000
  3. 1: 100,000
  4. 1: 10,000
  • The numerator of the fraction is always 1.
  • The denominator is the portion that varies.
  • What is the smaller value if you resolve the ratio?

Resolving each of the fractions reveals that 1: 100,000 results in the smaller value. This means that the dimensions of objects on this map are more 'scaled down' from their real dimension than on the other ratios.