Map Work
Map Work tests your ability to read location, scale, direction, symbols and contours from maps of India and thematic maps.
What the exam tests
Map work tests location, direction, scale, symbols, contours and the ability to read India's physical and political geography. You must extract information from the map itself, not recall a place name only.
Core rules and concepts
- Scale: statement, representative fraction or graphical scale; 1:50,000 means 1 cm on the map = 0.5 km on the ground.
- Direction: use north arrow and grid; east is to the right, west to the left.
- Grid: latitude and longitude give absolute location; contour lines join points of equal height.
- Contours: close spacing means steep slope; wide spacing means gentle slope; concentric closed contours may show a hill.
- Symbols: physical features, boundaries, rivers, settlements and transport lines follow a key.
- India maps: locate states, rivers, mountain ranges, plateaus, coasts and crop or mineral regions.
Worked example
On a 1:50,000 map, two villages are 4 cm apart. Ground distance = 4 × 0.5 km = 2 km. If the route bends, measure segment by segment and add. Reasoning: convert the representative fraction to a ground unit first, then multiply; do not use the straight-line distance for a road journey.
Traps that cost marks
- Measuring a winding road as a straight line.
- Reading contour interval as height above sea level of every point.
- Reversing east and west on a grid.
- Ignoring the key and guessing symbols.