Gis Lec
Gis Lec
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
10 Explain how a UTM zone is defined in terms of its central meridian, standard
meridian, and scale factor.
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
Chapter 3
1.Name the three types of simple features used in GIS and their geometric properties
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.