Scene From Above

The activities in this Pull-Out focus on maps, aerial photographs, and satellite images to track changes in land usage. Activity 1 introduces the concept of the scale of an image. In the final question in Activity 1, students work with two maps of an urban area at two points in time. Unfortunately, the maps have different scales. Students must redraw the first map to the scale of the second in order to visualize the amount of growth.

In Activity 2, students learn one method for zooming in or out on an image. This method relies on the formation of similar triangles. At the end of the activity, some students enlarge (while others reduce) a map of Boston Common and Boston Public Garden. Activity 3 focuses on area. Students learn how zooming affects image area. In addition, they learn how to find the area of an irregularly shaped region.