Level 2
New world map
Many people know the “flat” map of the world. It is seen on
posters, in books and on screens.
This map was is 450 years old. A man called Gerardus Mercator
made it. His flat map is called the Mercator projection.
The Mercator projection
is not accurate. For
example,
Greenland
looks
bigger
than
Australia.
This
is
incorrect. Australia is
three times the size of
Greenland.
An artist and designer
from Japan has made a new world map. His name is Hajime
Narukawa. He calls his world map the AuthaGraph projection. It
is more accurate than Mercator’s map.
Mr. Narukawa divided the globe up into 96 equal triangles.
These can be struck together to make four-sided shapes. Called
tetrahedrons, each side is a triangle.
The tetrahedrons can be fitted together to make a globe. They
can all be unfolded to make a flat map. It looks very different to
the Mercator projection.
Comprehension questions:
1. What is Gerardus Mercator’s flat map called?
2. Who is Hajime Narukawa?
3. What can the tetrahedrons all be unfolded to make?
Discussion questions:
4. Why do you think Mercator make his flat map 450 years ago?
5. Why is the Mercator projection inaccurate?
6. Why is the AuthaGraph projection more accurate than the
Mercator projection?
Copyright(C) newsademic.co.kr All Right Reserved