Reading Topographic Maps and Calculating Map Scale
This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Reviewed Teaching Collection
This activity has received positive reviews in a peer review process involving five review categories. The five categories included in the process are
- Scientific Accuracy
- Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
- Pedagogic Effectiveness
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This activity has benefited from a review and suggestion process as a part of an activity development workshop.
This activity has benefited from input from faculty educators beyond the author through a review and suggestion process as a part of an activity development workshop. Workshop participants were provided with a set of criteria against which they evaluated each others' activities. After the review, the authors developed a plan for revising their activities based on the feedback they received from their peers. To learn more about this review process, see http://serc.carleton.edu/quantskills/review_processes.html#2006.
This page first made public: Nov 14, 2006
Students will use a topographic map and define the watershed drained by Joe Brook, draw a bar scale, and calculate a ratio scale.
- apply quantitative skills to solve map scale problems
- discover the meaning of a watershed
Context for Use
Description and Teaching Materials
Assignment handout (Acrobat (PDF) bytes Jun25 06)
Teaching Notes and Tips
References and Resources
Ratio scales defined by the Geology Department at Idaho State University: http://geology.isu.edu/geostac/Field_Exercise/topomaps/map_scale.htm