Wednesday 2-15-12

Maps

¢  A map is a drawing or a diagram of a place. The place might be a country. It might be a park or zoo. It might be the whole world.

¢  Maps are small pictures of large areas; help the reader to understand where places are in an area.

¢  There are different kinds of maps. A street map shows you all the streets and roads in a city or town. A subway map shows you where subway trains go. A floor plan is a map of rooms in a building.

¢  Your classroom may have a map showing exits to use in case of a fire. Weather reporters use maps to show the weather in a place. Each map should have a title. The title tells you what the map shows.

READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.

A map a day keeps confusion away!

If you look around, you can find a map for any topic. Every mall has a map kiosk that let's you see how far you are from Old Navy. There are maps of city bus routes and subway lines. There are even maps in candy boxes so that you can avoid the piece of candy you hate. Without maps, our world would be lost.

Earth scientists around the world will tell you that maps are extremely important. Hydrologists use maps to show water locations and flow patterns. Scientists need to monitor the flow of water on the Earth's surface and underground. Mapping the location and flow of water helps scientists to predict water shortages. It also helps scientists to find suitable areas to build power plants and new communities. Earth scientists use maps to show the flow of air across the planet's surface. To produce these maps, scientists collect and plot their data to form isograms. These lines of identical information help scientists to study the different systems on our planet.

Meteorologists use maps to record weather patterns and to predict future weather events. They may plot precipitation totals for specific areas. Scientists may also use maps to show areas of high and low pressure and weather fronts. Since the information collected by meteorologists is always changing, weather maps need to be updated constantly. These maps provide valuable weather information to the public, including information about emergency weather situations. In fact, meteorologists use maps of previous weather activity, like hurricanes and tornados, to study and predict future occurrences in those areas.

 In addition to locating valuable resources and presenting weather data, scientists use maps to study how our planet changes over time. Earth scientists will compare maps of resources to determine the availability of those resources over time. They also use maps to study how our climate has changed over the years and the factors that have influenced our climate.

As you can see, maps have evolved over the years. They not only show us how to find our way, but they help scientists monitor the different changes and patterns that occur in our Earth system.

1. Ecologists use maps to show the ______ of water.
     A. Chemical makeup
     B. Location and flow patterns
     C. Oxygen level
     D. Tide levels
2. Weather maps need to be updated ______.
     A. Every decade
     B. Constantly
     C. Infrequently
     D. Every few years
3. How would scientists use maps to compare the changes of our coastlines over a period of years?
    ____________________________________________