Question

Modern cartographers of this century were the first to lay out a map using grid coordinates, place north at the top of the map, and locate several thousand places on their maps.

A) True
B) False

Answer 1

The statement is false; grid coordinates and placing north at the top of maps were used long before this century, as evidenced by the work of cartographers like Gerardus Mercator in the 1500s.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that modern cartographers of this century were the first to layout a map using grid coordinates, place north at the top of the map, and locate several thousand places on their maps is False. The use of grid coordinates and placing north at the top of maps date back far earlier than this century.

For example, in 1569, the Belgian mapmaker Gerardus Mercator developed a world map using a grid system of latitude and longitude, which is known today as the Mercator projection. Mercator was not the only one; other historical figures like Eratosthenes and Ptolemy significantly contributed to the development of grid systems in cartography.

Moreover, the 1507 map by Martin Waldseemüller and Matthais Ringmann is credited as the first map to incorporate the word "America," which is well before the current century.