Maps - Social Science, CBSE Video Lecture - Class 7

a good map always helps us to plan our
journey well let's study about some
facts of maps in this lesson we use a
globe to represent the spherical earth
in other words the globe is a model of
the earth on a small scale the shapes of
the continents and the oceans are quite
accurate on a globe the sizes are shown
on a reduced scale but the details like
small towns and villages of a country
cannot be shown on a globe the Earth's
surface either whole or part of it can
be represented on paper such
representation is called a map since on
maps the curved surface of the earth is
represented on a flat surface the shapes
and sizes of the continents get
distorted especially around the poles
maps are of different kinds and some of
them are described here physical maps
are maps which show the natural features
on the Earth's surface like mountains
plateaus Plains rivers and so on
political maps show boundaries of
countries and of the states within the
countries they also show the locations
of cities and towns maps can also show
types of soils forest areas the
distribution of minerals and industries
etc such maps which are based on a theme
or a topic are called thematic maps the
signs of map making is called
cartography every map is provided with
some aids or tools to help you read it
let us learn about some of them if you
look through your atlas you will see
maps of countries continents and even
the whole world such a large area are
shown on a small sheet of paper do you
know how this is done it is done by
making a small
distance on paper represent a large
distance on the ground different Maps
use different scales the scale of a map
is generally shown by a graduated
straight line of a particular length the
scale is generally drawn at the top or
the bottom of the map sometimes the
scale is not drawn it is given in words
for example one centimeter 200 kilometer
this means that one centimeter on the
map represents 100 kilometer on the
ground the size of a map depends on the
scale you choose if you look at any map
you will see a vertical line with an
arrow at the uppermost point of this
line found at the upper right or left
corner of any map the score the North
line and it shows the north direction
once you know the north direction you
can easily find the other directions
namely east west and south these four
directions are called the cardinal
points other than the four major
directions there are four intermediate
directions these are north east south
east south west and not west
these directions help in locating a
place with greater accuracy maps show
various features but it is impossible to
show the actual shapes and sizes of
trees buildings villages etc in a map
because of limited space if different
people use different symbols to draw
maps it would be difficult to understand
each other's map people all over the
world use the same set of symbols and
there is an agreement on these symbols
these are called conventional symbols
some conventional symbols have been
shown here you need to visit your
friends place and you don't know the way
won't it be of a great help if your
friend gives you a rough drawing to show
how to reach his home these drug
drawings which
not drawn according to a scale and which
tells us where a particular place is
located with respect to certain other
places is called a sketch and they can
be drawn more easily than plants and
maps a map cannot show the internal
details of buildings for such instances
we refer to plants which is a detailed
drawing of a small area drawn on a very
large scale so children next time you
read a map I am sure you will enjoy it
thank you