Answer Key
for introductory activities and questions for reading
comprehension, reflection, and discussion.
Activity: Map Book Gallery
As you look at the maps in the map books, select three maps and for each map record the following:
• Organization that produced the map
• Reason or problem for the map
• Layers included in the map
Answers will vary.
Lesson 1-1: Working with GIS layers
How many different layers do you see represented?
There are seven layers represented on the map.
What data is represented by the World Imagery Layer?
USDA FSA (NAIP 2015) aerial imagery is represented.
What information is available?
The type of image, date, and resolution are provided.
Record the date, resolution, and accuracy of the imagery.
The image was taken by USDA FSA (NAIP 2015) on Tuesday, September 8, 2015. The image has a
resolution of 1 meter and an accuracy of 6 meters.
Using the item details, write a sentence explaining the resolution and accuracy of the World Imagery
Layer.
A resolution of 6 meters means that you can zoom into the image until the area measure is about
6meters before the image starts to be blurred. The accuracy of 1meter means that is the difference
between the image and the true value on the ground.
Unit 1: GIS Provides a Common
Visual Language
T
ransforming our understanding of the world
Describe two types of landscapes that you can distinguish with the digital elevation model of the US.
Answers will vary, including Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, etc.
Complete this chart:
Layer Name Vector Type Two attributes
USA States Polygon Population and region
USA Freeway System Line Road number and length in sq. mi.
USA Parks Polygon National Forests, State Parks, and National Parks
USA Major Cities Point City Name and population
What cities were located by their longitude and latitude?
Pierre, South Dakota
Atlanta, Georgia
Phoenix, Arizona
Why are some of the numbers negative?
The numbers are negative because they are to the west of the Prime Meridian, which is expressed as
negative numbers in the Cartesian map coordinate system.
Explain the meaning of the following words:
raster:
A data le that consists of a rectangular grid of pixels.
attribute: Information appended in tabular format to spatial features.
georeferenced: Something is associated with locations on Earth.
geocoding: The computational process of transforming a postal address description to a location
on Earth’s surface (spatial representation in numerical coordinates).
accuracy:
The degree to which a measurement conforms to the true value.
resolution: The measurement of an image where the values are seen as true.
vector: A representation of the world using points, lines, and polygons.
Lesson 1-2: Mapping US Population Change 2000–2010
What is the rst spatial component that you see?
Counties are the rst spatial component seen.
What is the second spatial component that you see as you zoom in?
Census tracts are the second spatial component seen.
What does a census tract represent?
“Census tract,” a concept established by the US Census Bureau to facilitate analyzing populations, refers
to an area roughly equivalent to a neighborhood. In general, a census tract encompasses a population of
anywhere between 2,500 and 8,000 people. Census tracts are described as “relatively permanent,” but
they change over time.
Examine the legend and write a description of the legend in your own words.
The US government takes a census count of the population every decade. Here, percent change is a
measure (in percentages) of the difference in values between the population sizes of counties in 2010
compared with 2000. In the case, the difference between the numbers of people by county shows both
increase (+) and decrease (-).
What formula was used to calculate the percent change in population from 2000 to 2010?
Percent change = (2010-2000)/2000 * 100.
Write a description of the spatial distribution of the US by county by population change from 2000 to
2010.
The Midwestern states show a decrease in population, while Florida, Arizona, Southern California, and
southern Nevada show an increase in population.
Zoom in to your state and write a description of the spatial distribution of your state by population
change from 2000 to 2010.
Answers will vary.
Zoom in to your county and write a description of the spatial distribution of the census tracts by
population change in your county.
Answers will vary.
How could other state and county agencies use this information?
State and county agencies can and do use this information to predict where schools, re departments,
hospitals, and other public facilities should be built. Infrastructure is another area in which this data is
useful for advanced planning.
Lesson 1-3: Analyzing Nepal earthquake epicenters
What does the legend show about the population?
The legend shows the population in a color gradation, with the darker shades indicating more people
and the lighter indicating fewer. The most populated districts are on the southern edge of Nepal.
Where on the map are the earthquakes with a high magnitude in relationship to a district with a high
population?
Most of the earthquakes are to the north of Nepal, and the population is heavier in the south.
What would make rescue efforts difcult in the northern districts?
The terrain is rough.
Lesson 1-5: Mapping US Population Change 2000–2015
Build and publish a web app
Write a description of the spatial distribution of the US by state population from 2000 to 2010.
The Northeast and Louisiana show a decline in population over the 2000 to 2010 time period. The
western states, particularly Nevada, show a gain in population.
Lesson 1-6: Analyzing the opioid crisis in America
Symbolize data and calculate with Arcade
Write a paragraph comparing the data of opioid claims in 2014 with the opioid claims normalized
(divided by the total claims) in 2014.
The opioid claims map in 2014 shows, as would be expected, the counties with the most population to
have the most opioid claims. When the data is normalized, the spatial distribution is much more relevant
because the data has been standardized by the total claims, which gives a percentage instead of a raw
number.
Write a sentence about the spatial display (normalized) of the data. Which states have the most opioid
claims? Which have the least?
There is a concentration of opioid claims in Nevada, California, and along the Gulf of Mexico.
Write a brief paragraph about the spatial display of the data within your state. Is there a pattern?
Answers will vary.
What are the advantages of using color symbolization? Size symbolization?
The color symbolization makes it easier to pick out patterns at a county level. The size symbolization
makes it easier to interpret at the state level.
Which states have decreased in deaths?
Deaths have decreased in North Dakota, Nebraska, Maine, Vermont, Iowa, Arkansas, Mississippi, Hawaii,
and Alaska.
Which states seem to have the most increase in deaths?
Deaths have increased in all the other states.
The ArcGIS Book, chapter 1
Questions for reading comprehension, reection, and discussion
Thought leader: Jack Dangermond
GIS: Understanding The Science of Where
Write an explanation of The Science of Where. Include in your explanation thoughts on data integration
and GIS as a platform.
GIS can provide a platform for integrating data about anything. This platform can understand, take
action, and communicate on challenging issues for problem solving and decision making.
Enabling a smarter world
GIS provides a framework and process
List the different parts of the GIS framework with a brief explanation of each part.
The GIS framework consists of data management and integration, visualization and mapping, analysis
and modeling, action, decision making, and nally planning and design.
Web GIS is collaborative
Geography is the key, the web is the platform
What is meant by geography is the key?
Geography is the organizing key; information in web GIS is sorted by location. Because all these layers
share this common key, any theme of data can be overlaid and analyzed in relation to all other layers that
share the same geographic space.
What does georeferenced mean?
Georeferencing data means associating it with a specic, physical place.
How has web GIS changed and expanded our use of georeferenced data?
Web GIS means that suddenly you have much more than just your and your colleagues’ data layers
available to you. Web GIS puts nearly everything that anyone has ever published and shared about any
particular geographic area within your reach. Web GIS exponentially expands the potential of your data
visualization and analysis capabilities.
How GIS works and ArcGIS information items
The science of geography
Layers
List ve different types of layers that can be represented on a map.
Buildings, demographic data, satellite imagery, vegetation health, and trees are all layers that can be
represented on a map.
What is the difference between a map and a scene?
A web map consists of a basemap and a set of data layers presented as a two-dimensional map. A scene
combines basemap layers with operational overlays but displays them in the third dimension or in the
zaxis.
Investigate the maps. Pick one map and write about the information it portrays.
Answers will vary.
Investigate the scenes. Pick one scene and write about the information it portrays.
Answers will vary.
Geospatial analysis yields insights
Explain geospatial analysis.
Geospatial analysis is applying analytical techniques to data that has a geographic or spatial component.
Apps extend the reach of GIS
What is an app and what is its purpose?
An app is an interface that gives a user experience for putting a map to use.
Activity 2-1: Scale and resolution
Mastering the difference between them
Where is the scale shown on the map?
The map scale is shown in the lower left corner of the map.
Are there different zoom restrictions?
Yes. Some zoom to 4 ft. and others to 6 ft.
Are the images clear at the last zoom?
When zoomed to the full extent, visibility is not clear.
In one or two sentences summarize what the resolution is after reading this description.
The resolution of the imagery depends on the satellite or aerial imagery provider, and the resolution
refers to the number of pixels in an image. The resolution is calculated by the width and the height of a
pixel and the total number of pixels the image contains.
Verbalize to a small group the difference between scale and resolution. Feel free to use the maps as
visualizations.
Activity 2-2: Predominant Mapping
US county crops 2007
What is dominant in the Midwest and why?
Corn, wheat, and soybean are dominant in the Midwest.
Why does the West Coast have a majority of vegetable production?
The climate of the West Coast of California is conducive to vegetable production.
List the advantages and disadvantages of the two predominant category styles.
Predominant category maps by color can show predominance and strength. Predominant category by
size and color can show predominance, sum, and strength.
Unit 2: Mapping Is for Everyone
New ways to make, see, and use maps
List the three variables displayed in predominant category and size maps.
The three variables that are shown are as follows:
• Color shows the predominant category.
• Size shows the sum of the categories.
• Transparency shows the relative strength of the predominance.
Lesson 2-2: Displaying crime data with heat maps
Washington, DC, July 2016
How many total crimes are there?
There are 3,429 crimes.
How many wards?
There are eight wards.
Write a description of where the crime is concentrated.
The crime is concentrated in the center with a streak going straight north.
Does the heat map change as you zoom in and out?
Yes, the heat map is multiscale, which allows it to change as you zoom in and out.
Why is a heat map effective to display this crime data?
Heat maps are effective to display crime because they are multiscale and can show concentrations at
different scale levels.
How many crime incidents are theft auto?
1,002 crimes are theft auto.
Where would you direct your personnel to crack down on auto theft?
Personnel needs to be assigned to the locations where auto theft is most concentrated as shown by the
map.
How many crime incidents are burglary?
109 crimes are burglary.
Where would you direct your personnel to crack down on burglary?
There is some concentration of burglaries in the middle of the city; however, it is dispersed throughout
the city except in the northern tip.
How many auto thefts are there in ward 8?
There are 70 auto thefts in ward 8.
Where is the auto theft most concentrated in ward 8?
There are concentrations around Washington Highlands and Douglas Dwellings; however, the thefts are
also widely dispersed.
How many burglaries are there in ward 8?
There are 23 burglaries in ward 8.
Where are burglaries most concentrated in ward 8?
The burglaries do not have a discernable pattern.
Lesson 2-3: Educational levels in the USA
A closer look
What states have the highest percentages of students with no degree?
Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have a high percentage of students with no degree.
Do you see any regional trends?
The southern part of the US seems to have the highest percentage of students with no degree.
What is represented along the Mississippi River from Minnesota to Mississippi?
There is a band of students with no degree along the southern part of the Mississippi River.
Explain the spatial distribution in Texas.
There is a concentration of students with no degrees on the border between Texas and Mexico.
What is the spatial distribution of counties with the highest percentage of college degrees? Of lowest?
Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, and Colorado all have
high concentrations of college degrees.
Do you see any regional trends?
The Northeast has a high concentration of college degrees and also western Montana and Colorado.
What states have more than two counties with above 50 percent college degrees? Hint: you might want
to show the table.
Virginia and Colorado have two or more counties with 50 percent college degrees.
What states have the greatest number of counties with 20 percent with no degrees?
Texas, Georgia, and Mississippi all have a large number of counties with 20 percent with no degrees.
Is there a regional trend?
The states that have more counties with more than 20 percent without degrees are in the South and
Southern California.
Describe the spatial distribution of academic achievement within your state.
Answers will vary.
The ArcGIS Book, chapter 2
Questions for reading comprehension, reection, and discussion
Online mapping is transforming GIs
What are three advantages of online maps over traditional printed maps?
Online maps can be created by anyone, updated, and shared on any mobile device.
Basemaps and operational layers
What is the difference between a basemap and an operational layer?
A basemap is a map that provides a background or a geographic palette to display your map. Esri
provides several basemaps, each with a different focus. An operational layer consists of the user’s own
subject matter that will be overlaid on the basemap.
Web map properties
Besides being scalable and uid, name two other advantages of online maps.
Online maps can be continuously updated and simple pop-ups can be added to contain a wealth of
information.
Learning to smart map
What does smart mapping give to the online user?
Smart mapping is designed to quickly suggest pleasing and effective cartography based on the data
being used.
Map design 101
Drawing your audience into the story you’re telling
What makes looking at maps a rewarding experience?
Maps that are interactive and reward the user with information are great maps.
Maps into the third and fourth dimensions
What are the third and fourth dimensions?
The third dimension is vertical or 3D and the fourth dimension is temporal or time.
The ArcGIS Book, chapter 3
Questions for reading comprehension, reection, and discussion
Story maps: The fusion of maps and stories come to life
List components that can be incorporated into a story map.
Interactive maps, text, photos, video, and audio
[Story maps] “use the tools of GIS, and often present the results of spatial analysis, but don’t require their
users to have any special knowledge or skills in GIS.” Identify two maps from the Story Maps Gallery that
illustrate this idea.
Answers will vary.
Maps tell stories. What kinds of stories can you tell?
This section identies eight kinds of stories that might be told with a story map. List and describe two
more possibilities for this format.
Answers will vary.
Thought leader: Allen Carroll: Why maps are so interesting
Maps organize information spatially. What does this mean?
Maps arrange information according to its location by latitude/longitude coordinates, zip code, street
address, etc. This enables us to see patterns and relationships and provides context for our explorations.
What kind of story do you want to tell?
Based on your own interests and knowledge, briey describe two or more “stories” you’d like to tell with
a story map.
Answers will vary.
QuickStart: Things to consider when creating a story map
Planning is very important when creating a story map. Pick one of the stories you just indicated you
would like to tell with a story map and develop a plan for creating it by briey writing the answers to the
following questions:
What is your purpose and goal in telling the story and who is your audience?
Go to theStory Maps Gallery and identify two or more story maps whose subject matter is similar to
the story you’d like to tell.
Browse story map templates on theStory Maps Apps and identify the one that seems best for your story
map project.
Answers will vary.
Unit 3: Tell Your Story Using aMap
Inform, engage, and inspire people with story maps
Lesson 4-1: Exploring and creating basemaps
Introduction to more, better, and unique basemaps
Create a custom historical, ocean, and emergency map.
Maps will vary.
Lesson 4-2: Deriving accessibility
Can you stroll to the farmers’ market?
Write a brief description of the map’s content.
The map has four layers: a topographic basemap, state and county political boundaries, and point data
for farmers’ market locations.
Are the drive-time areas different when live trafc feed is added?
The drive-times are the most different if you use the traveling to and from work during rush hours.
How does this live trafc feed help you make decisions about market accessibility?
If you were going to the market during rush hour, it would take longer.
Lesson 4-3: Helping restore a watershed
Chesapeake Bay states land-use enrichment
Write several spatial observations about the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Include in your observations a
discussion of political vs natural boundaries. The observations that are written here will be used later in
the exercise when you construct your story map.
In this map, you see that political boundaries represent the boundaries of the states and a natural
boundary that represents a physical boundary, in this case, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The bay’s
watershed is irregularly shaped; the northern part of the watershed is narrower than the southern part.
The bay’s watershed includes parts of seven states, with Virginia and Pennsylvania having the most land
area and Maryland and Virginia having the most coastline.
The ArcGIS Book, chapter 4
Questions for reading comprehension, reection, and discussion
The Living Atlas: The ArcGIS platform provides rich content
How have open data repositories such as the Living Atlas changed the way GIS users plan and implement
projects?
Unitv 4: Great Maps Need
Great Data
The Living Atlas of the World provides the foundation
Answers 325
By providing ready-made basemaps and authenticated data, GIS users can spend less time assembling
the components for their projects and more time performing analysis, answering questions, and solving
real-world problems.
The ArcGIS data community: A global network for creating and sharing authoritative geographic
information resources
The work of organizations that make up the global GIS community has changed with the emergence of
web GIS. Explain how this GIS work has changed.
During the early days of GIS, the compilation of relevant data layers was one of the primary tasks of
each organization. Today, this data is increasingly available to everyone via the web, providing these
organizations with access to a continuous coverage of geographic information worldwide.
What kind of data is available? Denitive, authoritative basemaps
There are several key concepts to understand about basemaps; they are multiscale, provide global
coverage, and are continuous. In your own words, briey dene each of these concepts:
multiscale: The amount that detail changes as you zoom in or out.
global coverage: Refers to maps that cover the entire surface of Earth.
continuous: These basemaps seamlessly wrap around Earth.
Demographics
Explain the concept of data enrichment.
Data enrichment is the ability to add to your map relevant demographic data to the problem or issue
under investigation.
Opening data to the world of possibilities
What are open data sites and what benets do they provide?
Citizens can directly access thousands of open government datasets, which they can search, download,
lter, and visualize through their web browsers or mobile devices.
These open data sites enhance government transparency and foster collaboration among community
groups.
Imagery
In your own words, briey compare these types of imagery: photographic, satellite, and multispectral.
photographic: Aerial photography and videos taken from airplanes and, increasingly, drones.
satellite: Imagery created from data collected by Landsat satellites.
multispectral: Imagery created by combining visible and invisible light collected remotely by satellites or
planes.
Landscapes: Landscape analysis layers
What are ELUs?
Answers 326
Ecological land units (ELUs) are areas of distinct bioclimates, landforms, lithology, and land cover that
form the basic components of terrestrial ecosystem structure.
Thought leader: Richard Saul Wurman
A map is a pattern made understandable
In your own words, explain what the phrase “understanding precedes action” means to you.
Explore the Urban Observatory and explain how it reects the concept that “understanding precedes
action.”
Answers will vary.
Exploring and analyzing relevant data are essential before you attempt to address a problem or issue.
Activity
Discover your local green infrastructure assets using the Green Infrastructure app.
Complete this table:
Place/State % Intact Habitat Core Area Roads vs Streams (more
roads than streams)
National Average (more
roads than streams)
Phoenix, AZ 89% 8.4 5.5
Richmond, VA 49% 7.0 5.5
Albany, NY 53% 5.4 5.5
San Diego, CA 74% 7.0 5.5
Which of the designated states has the most intact core habitats? The least?
Arizona has the most intact core habitats and Virginia has the least.
Why do you think Arizona has 8.4 times more roads than streams?
There are relatively few streams in Arizona.
Compare two counties within your state.
Answers will vary.
Write a description for the distribution of land in your state. What is the dominant land cover:
Agriculture? Urban? Forest?
Answers will vary.
What are the dimensions of a core habitat area?
A core habitat area should be at least 200 acres and at least 200 meters wide.
What are other parameters to consider when dening core habitats?
A core with larger volume and smaller perimeter is better than one that is long and skinny.
Cores with water bodies, perennial streams and rivers, and wetlands are considered better than those
without.
Unit 5: The Power of Where
How spatial analysis leads to insight
Write a paragraph or give an oral report about reasons that the core habitat area that you picked is
appropriate.
Answers will vary.
Lesson 5-3: Creating thematic maps with hexagons
Analyze Toxic Release Inventory
Analyze health insurance
Which states seem to have the highest concentrations of TRI sites?
Texas, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania have high concentrations of TRI sites.
What layers could you add to enhance your observations?
Adding urban areas and rivers would enhance observations.
What parts of South Carolina have the largest percentage of people with insurance?
Along the coast and around Columbia are areas with the largest percentage of people with insurance.
Lesson 5-4: Introducing ArcGIS Arcade expressions
Calculate percentage unemployment
Show population increase and decrease 2010–2017
What attributes are available to use?
Total population in 2017, 2010, and the number of unemployed in 2017 are the attributes available.
Is there a spatial pattern of unemployment?
Unemployment is higher in the South, particularly along the Mississippi delta, and the Southwest.
Unemployment is low in the western states of North and South Dakota, Montana, and Oregon.
Do you see any correlation between the counties that have the highest percentage of unemployment
and the counties that have lost population?
There is a high correlation between the location of the counties with high unemployment that have also
lost population since 2017.
Lesson 5-5: Siting a new hospital in Loudoun County, VA
Use GIS to create new knowledge
Write a paragraph defending your site selection.
Answers will vary.
The ArcGIS Book, chapter 5
Questions for reading comprehension, reection, and discussion
Geographic analysis
Write a paragraph explaining this statement: GIS is more than a map.
The rst step of any spatial problem is to put the data on a map; however, maps are more than
locational information. They are the production and storage of analytical spatial information. This spatial
information allows the user to solve problems using a particular suite of geospatial tools.
Give at least three examples where spatial analysis tools have been used to solve problems.
Spatial analysis tools have been used to determine relationships of storm events, detect patterns of
crime, and nd best locations and paths for public transportation.
Visualization
What can my map show me?
Visualization shows the area you’re investigating and the data affected.
Insights
Real-time exploration and analysis of maps and data
What is Insights for ArcGIS workow?
ArcGIS Insights is a browser-based analytic workbench that enables you to interactively explore and
analyze data from many sources.
Modeling
Using the language of spatial analysis
What is a typical modeling sequence?
Data is input and undergoes geoprocessing and is output as a result.
Spatial problem solving
A conceptual framework
What are the steps of spatial problem solving?
The steps of spatial problem solving are as follows:
• Ask and explore.
• Model and compute.
• Examine and interpret.
• Make decisions.
• Share results.
Thought leader: Linda Beale
The challenge is making complex data understandable
Explain the specic role GIS plays in health analysis.
Health outcomes are spatial and characterized by human and physical geographies. GIS offers the
technology to explore, manipulate, and analyze data from multiple sources. The ability of doctors,
researchers, and the public to access multiscale interactive web maps during a time of crisis makes GIS so
useful and valuable in these situations.
Activity
Vocabulary match game
E___
1. 2D map A. Map 1
D___
2. 3D crime visualization B. Map 2
F___
3. local scene C. Map 3
C___
4. photorealistic D. Map 4
B___
5. xed symbols E. Map 6
A___
6. global scene F. Map 7
Lesson 6-1: Understanding current events in 3D
Use a virtual globe to broadcast the news
Why is it dangerous to go through Greece without going through Turkey?
If the refugees don’t go through Greece, they have to go through the Mediterranean Sea.
What routes either by land or water would the refugees have to take to get to Germany? Name the
countries and water bodies.
To get to Germany, the refugees have to go either through the Mediterranean or the Black Sea and
Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, and Czech Republic.
Hungary and Austria have shown signs of resistance to the refugees and are closing or threatening to
close their borders. How would this affect the routes the refugees would have to take?
That would make the distance the refugees have to travel much greater.
When Hurricane Irma made landfall at Cudjoe Key, what was the hurricane strength? Category and
sustained winds?
Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 mph.
What towns are close to Cudjoe Key?
Marathon and Key West
Why is Cudjoe Key particularly vulnerable?
Cudjoe Key is surrounded by water, as is every other part of the Florida Keys.
Unit 6: Mapping the Third
Dimension
A change in perspective
Is this emergency weather related? How?
Major El Niño storms and high tides have caused the erosion of the cliff.
Will the residents get any nancial relief?
The apartment building has been condemned and demolished and both the state and federal
governments will help with nancial relief for the residents.
Lesson 6-5: Teaching world time zones
Chart the hour for online students
Describe the standard time zones.
There are 24 time zones, each 15 degrees of longitude wide. The same clock time is kept within each
zone.
Why do some of the standard time zones have irregular boundaries on land?
There are irregular boundaries on land to avoid having a time change at an inconvenient location.
Explain the need for an International Date Line.
The International Date Line identies where the date changes for travelers.
How many time zones are in the continental US?
There are four times zones in the continental US: Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacic.
What cities are represented?
The cities are London, Paris, Denver, Minneapolis, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo.
Use the constructed Scene to complete this chart:
Start City Day/Time Travel Direction End City Day/Time # Time Zones Crossed
London Mon 11 AM West Denver Mon 4 AM 7
London Mon 11 AM East Denver Mon 4 PM 17
Paris Wed 1 AM West Minneapolis Tues 6 PM 6
Paris Wed 1 AM East Minneapolis Tues 6 PM 18
Rio de Janeiro Friday 10 PM West Tokyo Sat 10 AM 12
Rio de Janeiro Friday 10 PM East Tokyo Sat 10 AM 12
The ArcGIS Book, chapter 6
Questions for reading comprehension, reection, and discussion
The evolution of 3D mapping
Advantages of 3D
What advantage does vertical information give?
Maps that contain vertical information can show hill shading, contours, and volumetric information.
What is human-style navigation?
When data is presented in 3D, the viewer intuitively understands the size and relative positions of objects.
Important 3D terminology:
Getting the z-terminology straight
Explain these terms (including the difference between them where appropriate):
maps and scenes: Exemplied 2D or 3D views.
local and global: This represents two different scene environments: Global scenes extend across large
distances, and local scenes have a xed study area.
surfaces: All surface data includes an x,y, and x value for any point on it.
real size and screen size: There is value in having some symbols remain the same, both in the scene and
on screen.
Representing the world in 3D
Dene photorealistic.
A photorealistic view recreates reality by using textures.
What makes 3D cartography powerful?
3D cartography takes 2D thematic mapping techniques and moves them into 3D.
What two factors are involved to create a feeling of virtual reality?
A 3D view feels like virtual reality when photorealistic and thematic techniques are used in combination.
What makes a great scene?
What is meant by implying a 3D scene is designed to be immersive?
A 3D view allows people to see space in 3D. A 3D view is immersive because it invites people to imagine
themselves within the scene.
What are the three choices of styling 3D content?
Fully photorealistic, fully thematic, and a combination of photorealistic and thematic.
List two ways to illustrate thematic views.
Thematic 3D views use common 2D cartographic techniques such as classications. Authors of 3D scenes
also create thematic, simplied representations to more effectively convey information.
Thought leader: Nathan Shephard
The rise of the 3D cartographic scene
What does Nathan discuss?
Nathan talks about the benets of communicating spatial data in 3D and the fact that cartographers are
no longer limited to two dimensions.
Who uses 3D cartography? Go to ArcGIS Web Scenes Gallery and investigate three of the maps.
Answers will vary.
Activity
What is marketplace?
The ArcGIS Marketplace is a destination that allows ArcGIS Online organizations to search, discover,
and get apps, data, and additional capabilities from qualied providers (Esri Business Partners, Esri
Distributors, Esri Startups, and Esri) for use within their organization.
Who can use the apps?
ArcGIS organizational members can use the marketplace.
Select two apps and explain why you would want to use them. Download them to your mobile device
and enjoy.
Answers will vary.
Lesson 7-2: Assessing risk of inundation
Use STORMTOOLS
Consider the answers to each of these questions as you compare Properties A, B, and C:
How will potential levels of future sea level rise affect the property?
Answers will vary.
Is the property vulnerable to storm surge during a 100-year coastal storm (for example, 1938 hurricane)?
Answers will vary.
How deep will the water be during a 100-year coastal storm on the property?
Answers will vary.
How will the property’s vulnerability to 100-year coastal storms change by 2050?
Answers will vary.
Based on your analysis with the STORMTOOLS data, identify the property that seems to be the least
vulnerable to ooding from sea level rise and/or storm events and which one seems the most vulnerable.
Which one would you like to purchase? Why?
Answers will vary.
Unit 7: The Power of Apps
Focused tools that get the work done
Lesson 7-3: Exhibiting changes over time
Use the USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer app
Explore and compare the maps to identify ones that tell the clearest story of changes around the Lanier
Middle School from 1915 to the present. Note that you can download any of these maps as a geopdf.
The download link is next to the map thumbnail in the table of contents.
Answers will vary.78
The ArcGIS Book, chapter 7
Questions for reading comprehension, reection, and discussion
The rise of spatially intelligent apps
What is an app?
Apps are lightweight computer programs designed to run on the web, smartphones, tables, and other
mobile devices
How is a GIS app unique?
GIS apps are a special breed because they’re map centric and spatially aware.
Where do apps come from?
Apps take ArcGIS where you go and where GIS users go.
List some ways to solve a problem with an app.
Telling a story.
Engaging with people.
Taking GIS into the eld.
Collecting high-resolution, up-to-the-minute aerial photographs.
Thought leader: Jeff Shaner
On the scene at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
How did the use of mobile GIS inuence the Deepwater Horizon emergency response?
The responders began to share maps, data, videos, and photos, enabling responders to better
coordinate with emergency command centers and ensure high levels of situational awareness.
Case study: US Geological Survey
In 2009, the US Geological Survey began the release of a new generation of topographic maps in
electronic form and in 2001 complemented them with the release of high-resolution scans of historical
topographic maps of the US dating back to 1882. View these using the USGS Historical Topographic
MapExplorer. Use the app to do the following:
Find the area you want to explore.
Use the timeline to select the maps.
Compare the maps.
Answers will vary.
List three of Esri’s ArcGIS ready-made apps.
Collector
Survey123
Explorer
Activity
Understanding the Landsat program
What is Landsat and when did it begin?
The Landsat program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the
US Geological Survey.
What are the orbit paths of the Landsat satellites?
The Landsat 8 and Landsat 7 satellites both maintain a near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit, following the
World Reference System. They each make an orbit in about 99 minutes, complete more than 14 orbits
per day, and provide complete coverage of Earth every 16 days.
What is the resolution of the spectral bands?
The spectral bands have a resolution of 30 meters.
What is the resolution of the thermal bands?
The thermal bands have a resolution of 60 meters.
What is the difference between the spectral band and the thermal band?
The spectral bands measure reected light and the thermal bands measure emitted heat.
Lesson 8-1: Using global imagery basemaps
Something for everyone
What objects can be seen at the following resolutions?
Low Resolution 15 meters
Major roads and buildings can be seen at this resolution.
High Resolution 60 cm
You can identify individual buildings.
High Resolution 30 cm
You can count cars in parking lots and parking spaces.
Unit 8: Imagery Is Visible
Intelligence
A geographic Rosetta stone
On your own, locate the places in the following table and record the image detail:
Location Provider Resolution Accuracy
O’ahu, Hawaii Digital Globe 0.31 meters 4.2 meters of true location
Shanghai, China Digital Globe 0.31 meters 10.2 meters of true
location
Oslo, Norway Digital Globe 0.5 meters 4.2 meters of true location
Abu Dhabi, ARE Digital Globe 0.5 meters 4.2 meters of true location
Washington, DC esri 0.08 meters 0.3 meters of true location
Lesson 8-2: Assessing landscape layers in the Living Atlas of the World
A collection of global geographic information
How many drilling platforms are below 1500?
There are 50 drilling platforms in water depth below 1500.
Lesson 8-3: Monitoring fracking in Denton, TX
Use panchromatic Landsat
What is the date of the image that is being viewed?
Answers will vary.
What do you observe about the quantity of fracking wells?
There are many more in 2017 and 2001.
What area within Denton city limits appears to have added the most fracking wells?
The southwestern corner of Denton appears to have added the most fracking wells.
Lesson 8-4: Visualizing La Tuna Canyon re damage
One of Los Angeles’s biggest wildres in 2017
As you swipe back and forth, can you identify the burn scar?
The burn scar is easily recognized.
What is the burn/post-re regrowth area?
Answers will vary.
What is the burn/post-re regrowth area?
Answers will vary.
Lesson 8-5: Assessing Hurricane Maria damage
The browning of Puerto Rico
What are your observations about the before and after Maria images?
The image is much browner, indicating much less vegetation. There is less vegetation because the leaves
have been blown off the trees, and some of the trees have been uprooted.
The NDVI shows thick, vigorous vegetation as dark green and sparse vegetation as brown. Write a
comparison of the two images.
There is much more dark green, indicating more vigorous vegetation in the before image than in the after
image. The after image is much more brown, indicating sparse vegetation.
The color infrared band combination shows healthy vegetation as bright red, whereas stressed
vegetation is dull red. Write a comparison of the two images.
The vegetation image shown in the after Maria image is much duller, indicating stressed vegetation.
The ArcGIS Book, chapter 8
Questions for reading comprehension, reection, and discussion
Write briey about the historical timeline of imagery. Specically refer to the following milestones:
• World War II: Reconnaissance and intelligence gathering
• Humans exploring the moon
• The Landsat program
• The human era of GIS
During World War II, major advances in the use of imagery for intelligence were developed to identify
precise locations. In July 1969, televised images transmitted to Earth from the moon showed that this
transferring of imagery was a possibility. The Landsat program, which was began in 1972, has provided a
constant observation of Earth for the past 40 years. The human era of GIS began with multiscale online
images of the world provided by Google, Microsoft, and other companies.
How does imagery expand your perspective?
Imagery allows you to understand patterns, see beyond the visible, forecast and report weather, and see
beyond the apparent by peering into the past.
Thought leader: Lawrie Jordan
ArcGIS now includes a complete image processing system.
What does Lawrie Jordan mean when he says “We like to say that the map of the
future is an intelligent image”?
He means that if users can see it, they can understand it, and imagery provides that understanding.
List four applications of imagery.
Daily access to new information
A constant look back in time
Meaningful collections
Powerful analytic capabilities
Activity
Aspects of a real-time GIS
Write a sentence explaining each of the following aspects of a real-time GIS:
Acquiring real-time data
An organization can visually represent the live status of its network with information captured by sensors
in the eld about factors such as storm effects, wind speed and direction, temperature, and current
positions of police cars or ambulances.
Performing continuous processing
After displaying data in real time, next you want to perform an analysis, such as ltering or detecting
patterns.
Communicating the results
Sharing where a storm is hitting and the location of a child who has been left on a school bus are
examples of communicating results.
Lesson 9-1: Exploring real-time data sources
Examine at least three of the examples of real-time data sources and write a brief description.
Answers will vary.
Lesson 9-4: Visualizing 2016 presidential election data
Apply predominant mapping, Z-score
What does the map tell you about voting patterns in the 2016 presidential election?
There is a huge divide between rural and urban areas. The cities vote more Democratic and the rural
areas vote more Republican.
What does the Z-Score legend represent?
The 1 means that 68 percent of the people voted Democratic.
Lesson 9-5: Clustering to extract information
Analyze 30 years of tornadoes
How many tornadoes are shown?
There are 56,155 tornadoes shown.
Unit 9: Mapping the Internet
of Things
Harnessing the World Wide Web of sensors
How many years of data do the tornadoes represent?
The years represented are 1950 to 2011 or 61 years.
The ArcGIS Book, chapter 9
Questions for reading comprehension, reection, and discussion
How real is real time?
Real-time dashboards are used by local governments to monitor snowplows and trash trucks, by law
enforcement to monitor crime, and by transportation to monitor the ow of trafc. Real-time data is as
current as the data source that is updating it, whether that data is being updated every second, minute,
hour, or daily. Real-time data is accessible from any source of data captured by sensors.
What are the components of a real-time dashboard?
Real-time dashboards are composed of a map with inserted widgets and can be shared with your
organization.
What is the Internet of Things?
The Internet of Things is composed of autonomous vehicles, public safety services, utilities, and
telecommunication infrastructure. Sensors are being implemented on our planet.
Activity
Building smarter communities
Initiative Data Collected Analysis
Reduce Vector-borne Disease Details, date, status, assignment Heat map of traps
Reduce Homelessness Veteran status, sheltered, medical
needs, mental health needs,
transportation needs, encampment
details
Best location for a new shelter, able
to provide food and services better
Reducing Opioid Addiction Location of providers Opioid death heat map
The ArcGIS Book, chapter 10
Questions for reading comprehension, reection, and discussion
Identify some of the unique characteristics of the professional GIS community.
GIS is currently used in virtually every segment of society: government, industry, academia, conservation.
It is one of the fastest-growing segments in the tech eld of our economy. GIS professionals perform a
vital role in addressing critical issues, such as access to resources, environmental collapse, and climate
change. GIS professionals have a strong bond with local, state, and national networks.
What are some of the opportunities that an ArcGIS organizational account provides to its members and
to the organization overall?
To create, organize, and share geographic information with appropriate groups.
To create maps for users and constituents outside the organization and share these online.
To share maps and information layers throughout the organization and beyond.
To organize content by creating and managing groups.
What are the core elements of geodesign as a planning methodology?
Planning is based on a community of collaborators who identify the following:
• Project objectives
• Special resources
• Opportunities for support
Constant feedback loops occur between local citizens and stakeholders (community engagement).
Unit 10: GIS Is about Community
Web GIS is the GIS of the world
What do the three apps shown under social GIS and citizen science have in common?
All three apps shown under the banner Social GIS and crowdsourcing are interactive, allowing users to
input information for an intended purpose. The rst two collect information from the user, while the last
one provides information to the user.
What does Clint Brown mean when he says GIS is collaborative?
GIS provides a kind of integration engine: As more and more layers of data are amassed and maintained,
GIS provides the means for integrating them in countless ways. This global collection of information can
be applied to the analysis of virtually any issue, including climate change, the spread of disease, and food
production.
What does Lauren Bennett mean when she says spatial analysis is changing everything?
The use of spatial analysis is taking a central role in the way that organizations think about their data and
make informed decisions.
