It is not appropriate to conduct spatial analysis, e.g., measuring area or distance, using a geographic coordinate system.

It is not appropriate to conduct spatial analysis, e.g., measuring area or distance, using a geographic coordinate system.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. Not Applicable
• D. Both

Answer: (B)

Geographic coordinates are angular measurements (degrees) on a curved Earth, so distance and area aren’t linear in those units. If you compute distance directly from lat/long or measure area in a latitude–longitude frame, the results can be distorted and vary with location. The usual approach is to reproject the data into a suitable projected coordinate system that preserves the metric you need (an equal-area projection for accurate areas, or a distance-preserving projection for lengths) before performing those analyses. Alternatively, you can use geodesic calculations that account for the Earth's shape while working with geographic coordinates. Because of these distortions, relying on a geographic coordinate system for measuring area or distance is not appropriate, so the statement is true.

Geographic coordinates are angular measurements (degrees) on a curved Earth, so distance and area aren’t linear in those units. If you compute distance directly from lat/long or measure area in a latitude–longitude frame, the results can be distorted and vary with location. The usual approach is to reproject the data into a suitable projected coordinate system that preserves the metric you need (an equal-area projection for accurate areas, or a distance-preserving projection for lengths) before performing those analyses. Alternatively, you can use geodesic calculations that account for the Earth's shape while working with geographic coordinates. Because of these distortions, relying on a geographic coordinate system for measuring area or distance is not appropriate, so the statement is true.