Which of the following is not an equal area projection ?

Question

Accepted Answer

Mercator's Projection is not an equal area projection because it prioritizes preserving angles and shapes locally, which is crucial for navigation. To achieve this, it significantly distorts the size of areas, especially near the poles. Areas near the poles appear much larger than they actually are relative to areas near the equator. This distortion of area makes it unsuitable for applications where accurate representation of area is important.

Now, let's explain why the other options are incorrect:

1.  **Bonne's Projection:** Bonne's projection *is* an equal-area projection. It preserves area accurately, although it distorts shapes, particularly away from the central meridian. Therefore, it cannot be the correct answer.

2.  **Mollweide's Projection:** Mollweide's projection *is* an equal-area projection. It sacrifices shape and angular conformity to accurately represent the relative sizes of areas on a map. It's commonly used for world maps showing thematic data where area is important. Therefore, it cannot be the correct answer.

3.  **Sinusoidal Projection:** The Sinusoidal projection *is* an equal-area projection. All areas are represented in correct proportion to one another, although shapes are distorted, especially towards the edges of the map. Therefore, it cannot be the correct answer.

Therefore, only Mercator's projection does not preserve area, making it the correct answer.