Which statement about conformal projections is correct?

Which statement about conformal projections is correct?

• A. They preserve angles locally
• B. They preserve areas globally
• C. They preserve distances exactly
• D. They distort none of the properties

Answer: (A)

Conformal projections preserve angles locally. At any point, the projection acts like a scaled rotation on a small neighborhood, so the angles between intersecting lines remain the same after the projection. However, the scale can vary with location, so distances and areas aren’t preserved globally. That’s why conformal maps like the Mercator projection keep local shapes accurate in angle but distort size and area as you move away from the center. The other ideas—preserving areas globally, preserving distances exactly, or distorting none of the properties—don’t hold because the local angle-keeping comes with inevitable global distortion in area and distance.

Conformal projections preserve angles locally. At any point, the projection acts like a scaled rotation on a small neighborhood, so the angles between intersecting lines remain the same after the projection. However, the scale can vary with location, so distances and areas aren’t preserved globally. That’s why conformal maps like the Mercator projection keep local shapes accurate in angle but distort size and area as you move away from the center. The other ideas—preserving areas globally, preserving distances exactly, or distorting none of the properties—don’t hold because the local angle-keeping comes with inevitable global distortion in area and distance.