Questions: GIS Fundamentals

Question 1

A city planner needs to identify suitable locations for a new fire station. The site must be within 200 meters of a main road, more than 500 meters from existing stations, on publicly owned land, and on slopes less than 10%. Which GIS operation framework is most appropriate?

• A. Simple visual inspection of a printed map
• B. Multi-criteria overlay analysis: buffer main roads (200m), buffer existing stations (500m exclusion zone), select public parcels, derive slope from DEM, then intersect all criteria to identify candidate areas
• C. Geocoding the addresses of all existing fire stations
• D. Creating a 3D fly-through visualization of the city

Answer: (B)

This is a classic suitability analysis that combines proximity (buffering), attribute selection, and terrain analysis. GIS overlay operations intersect these derived layers to identify areas satisfying ALL criteria simultaneously -- a task that is essentially impossible without spatial data integration.

Question 2

GIS is primarily a map-making tool, similar to graphic design software.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

Map production is one output of GIS, but the core capability is spatial analysis -- the ability to query, combine, transform, and model geographic data to answer questions about spatial relationships, patterns, and processes. GIS integrates a database management system (for storing and querying attributes), spatial analysis tools (for proximity, overlay, network, and terrain analysis), and visualization. A map is a communication product; GIS is an analytical framework.

Question 3

Explain the difference between a GIS layer showing land parcels and the same information printed on a paper map.

Model answer: A GIS layer links each parcel polygon to a database record containing attributes (owner, area, zoning, tax value, date of sale, etc.) that can be queried, filtered, and analyzed programmatically. The geometry has precise coordinates enabling measurement, overlay with other layers, and spatial analysis. A paper map shows only what was printed -- fixed attributes at a fixed scale with no database connection. You cannot query a paper map for all parcels over 5 acres, calculate distances, or overlay flood zones. The GIS layer is dynamic, queryable, and analytically powerful; the paper map is static and visual only.

The fundamental distinction is that GIS data is computable -- it can be queried, transformed, and combined -- while a paper map is a fixed visual representation.