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MAPS

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COMPONENTS OF A MAP

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DISTANCE

DIRECTION

SYMBOLS

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DISTANCE

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Maps are drawings, which reduce the entire world or a part of it to fit on a sheet of paper. But this reduction is very carefully so that the distance between the places is real. It can only be possible when a small distance on paper represents a large distance on the ground. So a scale is chosen for this purpose.

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What is scale of a map ?

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A SCALE IS THE RATIO BETWEEN THE ACTUAL DISTANCE ON THE GROUND AND THE DISTANCE SHOWN ON THE MAP.

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For example , the distance between your school and your home is 50km.If you show this 50km distance by 5cm on a map,it means 1cm on the map will show 10km on the ground.The scale of your map will be 1cm=10km.Thus if you know scale you will be able to calculate the distance between any two places on a map.

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On the basis of scale we have two types of maps - SMALL SCALE MAPS AND LARGE SCALE MAPS.

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Scale is very important in any map. When large areas like continents or countries are to be shown on a paper then we use small scale .

For example 5cm on the map shows 500 km. of the ground. It is called small scale maps.

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When a small area like our village is to be shown on a paper , then we use large scale. That is 5cm. on the map shows 500metres only on the ground. It is called large scale maps

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Now tell me which maps give more information ?

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DIRECTION

To read a map we must know the directions. Most of the maps contain an arrow marked with the letter ‘N’ at the upper right hand corner. This arrow shows the north direction. When we know the north, it is easy to find the other directions. There are four major directions, North, South, East and West. They are called CARDINAL DIRECTIONS.

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Other four intermediate directions are north-west(NW), south-east (SE),south-west (SW) and north-west(NW). We can locate any place more accurately with the help of these intermediate directions.

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CARDINAL DIRECTIONS

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COMPASS

We can find the direction of a place with the help of compass. It is an instrument used to find out main directions. Its magnetic needle always points towards north-south directions

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ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS….

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  1. What are the three components of Map ?

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  • What is a scale of a map ?

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  • What are the four cardinal directions ?

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  • Name the instrument to find out main directions.

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