Is wgs 1984 a map projection? why or why not? where is the starting point for calculating the globe’s shape in wgs 1984?

which three shapes are used to visualize projections? which spatial properties does each type preserve? name an example of each type of projection.

1. No, WGS 84 is a Geographical Reference system, and to calculate the globe´s shape they use reference Geoids and ellipsoids with a defined radius.

2. Cylindrical, Conical and Azimuthal

Explanation:

1.

To represent the world and its curvature cartographers have made various models through time, two dimensional and third-dimensional models can be found and they use Geographical or Projected Reference systems

Two-dimensional models use projections to flatten the earth into a plane so that calculations with the metric system are possible, there are global and national Projected reference systems. Transverse Mercator is one of the most common Projected reference systems.

Third-dimensional models give latitude and longitude coordinates and represent the earth's curvature through Geoids and ellipsoids. Geoids represent the true shape of the Earth which is more like a potato than a sphere) trough gravimetrical data. But to easily make calculations they simplify the Geoid trough an Ellipsoid.

Geographical coordinate systems use reference Ellipsoids such as WGS 84 to calculate the shape of the globe, Ellipsoids have a defined Equatorial Radius which makes calculations like area and perimeter of the earth possible.

2.

Projections can be Cylindrical, Conic and Azimuthal

Cylindrical: In this projection, only countries in the equatorial line preserve their areas, shapes, and scale. further to the north or the south countries tend to distort, critically at polar regions. Example: Mercator projection

Conical: similar to the cylindrical projection, conic projections only preserve low distortion spatial properties near the reference parallels, conic projections are often used for the northern or southern parts of the world because they fix their deformation from the cylindrical projection. Countries near the Equatorial line tend to distort. Example: Equidistant conic projection.

Azimuthal: these projections use a plane tangent to represent the world, parallels and meridians are radial lines, and this way directions, shape and area can be preserved. Example: Lambert azimuthal equal-area