GIS 210/592 Final Exam (100)
This final exam tests your understanding of a GIS problem (it is a real problem, by the way) and your ability to formulate necessary GIS analytical toolsets and thoughts from plain English to solve the problem. The exam tests basically your knowledge of the most often used analytical tools and operations and map making. During the exam, you are allowed to check your textbook, but strictly prohibited to discuss your question with anyone. The result of the analysis is given. I’ll need you to give me detailed steps (how you did it, what are the intermediate results), and I request you to use your best sense of making an easy to read, artistically appealing map as the submission for grading.
Narratives:
All the needed data are available from Canvas (please copy them to your flash disk or you won’t be able to do any analysis). Parcel information is contained in the folder Municipalities; land use information in the folder LandUse; Agricultural Development Area (ADA) of Burlington county is in the folder ADA (the layer contains all ADA in Burlington County); and turnpike information in folder Turnpike.
In this task, you are asked by the state department of environmental protection to carry out a pioneer wetland mitigation study in three municipalities (Bordentown, Chesterfield, and Mansfield in Burlington County). The first step is to find out which parcels are in the need of mitigation. I will need you to find parcels in these three municipalities that meet these criteria (Hint: to make life easier, what shall be the first step prior to do any of the following? Remember, the three municipalities have identical attribute structure, one of the GeoProcessing tools will make life much easier later):
1.Parcels must be equal or larger than 10 acres (the acreage information is contained in the “CALACREAG” field
2.The parcels must be within 2000 ft. of the NJ Turnpike
3.The parcels must NOT contain (entirely or partially) any forested land use types (land use information is in the “TYPE02” field [watch for the topological relationship here – the verb “contain” does not necessarily mean a “containment” topology – you must interpret this sentence carefully and decide what topological relationship this implies. This goes for the next two sentences, too]
4.The parcels must NOT contain (entirely or partially) any ADA
5.The parcels MUST contain (entirely or partially) wetlands.
The result is that there are 6 parcels that satisfy all the above criteria in these three municipalities, you need to find out which 6, and create a map out of the analysis result.
Please write down each step you did to solve the problem in detail. Give me the intermediate results of each step (how many parcels are obtained after that step). Create a professional map that has all the needed essential map elements and is artistically appealing – you are allowed to add any other layers that you believe is appropriate to make the map appealing.
Grading criteria:
There are two options for you to get a good grade: First, since the result layer is given, you can dedicate your time to make an appealing map, using as many (or as few) as you see fit layers to make your map informative. If your map follows all the rules of visual hierarchy, artistical arrangement of map elements, and all five essential elements of a map are present (if you cannot remember which five, please go back to check your notes), you will gain at least 80 points. You can tackle the query problem as listed above. There typically 5 steps. I will credit each step 4 points. If you get 5 steps right (you might not get the result), you will earn 20 points, totaling 100 points.
Or, second, you can focus all your time to do the query right. If you get your queries right and get the same results (the six polygons) as mine, you will earn 80 points. You can then start to make your final map. A well-made map (follow all the rules listed above) will earn you at most 20 points.
I will suggest you make an informative map first, then start to tackle the analytical problem. Starting from 12:00 noon, you have until midnight on Final day to finish the final and upload your map and write up to Canvas – remember, uploading a .jpeg or .pdf file of your map is crucial. NEVER UPLOAD A MAP PROJECT (with an extension of .aprx) or you will receive zero point for the map part.
