Which projection preserves the area of geographic regions (equal-area)?

• A. Cylindrical Projection
• B. Equal-area Projection
• C. Conical Projection
• D. Azimuthal Projection

Answer: (B)

Preserving area means that the size of any geographic region on the map matches its true size on Earth (up to a constant scale). An equal-area projection achieves this by adjusting the map’s scales in different directions so that the area of every region is proportional to its real area. Because it keeps areas intact, shapes and angles are typically distorted—especially away from the standard parallels or center. This is why equal-area maps can look stretched or warped in places, even though the relative sizes of countries or continents are accurate. Other projection types aim to keep angles (shape) or distances, but that comes at the expense of area. So the projection designed to preserve area is the equal-area type.