It would show up smaller on a Mercator map projection
A
One disadvantage of the Mercator projection is that it distorts the size of land masses towards the poles, making countries near the equator appear smaller than they actually are. This can lead to misrepresentations of true land sizes and distances on the map.
Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594) developed a method (Mercator cylindrical projection) of displaying the Earth's surface (which is curved) as a flat nautical map. On his map of 1569, sailing courses along a fixed bearing appeared as straight lines with the proper angle to the meridians. (But areas nearer the equator appear smaller than similar areas nearer the poles.) This map could not be fully applied to its intended use (sailing) until nearly 200 years later.
The Mercator projection is best suited for viewing small areas like towns or resorts because it preserves angles and shapes, making it useful for navigation and local orientation. Its distortion increases with distance from the equator, but for smaller regions, this distortion is minimal and does not significantly impact the representation. Consequently, it provides a clear and easily interpretable layout for local planning or tourism purposes.
One way to draw the Earth with minimal distortion is to use a map projection that preserves shape, area, direction, or distance - depending on the specific needs of the map. Common types of projections that help reduce distortion include the Mercator, Robinson, and Goode's homolosine projections. Additionally, using cartographic techniques such as breaking up the Earth's surface into smaller sections can help mitigate distortion.
Well, Greenland is BIGGEST on a mercator projection but on a Robinson it is smaller because the lines of latitude remain parallel, and lines of longitude are curved as they are on the globe. This results in lesser distortion near the poles. So your answer is most likely, no. DEPENDING on what map you look at.
A mercator map is best described as bigger and smaller portions of land than what is actually is
The Mercator projection distorts areas, particularly as one moves away from the equator. Landmasses like Greenland and Antarctica appear much larger than they actually are, while regions near the equator, such as Africa, appear smaller in comparison. This distortion makes the projection less suitable for accurately representing the size of countries and continents, particularly in high-latitude regions. Overall, the Mercator projection is more useful for navigation than for depicting true land area.
A
One disadvantage of the Mercator projection is that it distorts the size of land masses towards the poles, making countries near the equator appear smaller than they actually are. This can lead to misrepresentations of true land sizes and distances on the map.
The Mercator projection preserves the shape of countries accurately, but distorts their size, especially near the poles. This means that countries near the equator will appear smaller than they actually are on a Mercator map, while those near the poles will appear larger.
there is distortion at the north and south poles. The land sizes of the continents closest to the equator are smaller than they really are. But Mercator maps are very useful for sailors or pilots for finding direction.
The world is round, but maps are done on flat surfaces. To compensate for this, countries further from the equator get stretched. Greenland appears to be as big as all of Africa on a map like that, where in fact it is only about the size of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Alaska looks about half the size of the lower 48 states, but in reality it is much smaller. Watch for the lines of latitude and longitude to give a better idea of how big countries are in relation to each other.
Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594) developed a method (Mercator cylindrical projection) of displaying the Earth's surface (which is curved) as a flat nautical map. On his map of 1569, sailing courses along a fixed bearing appeared as straight lines with the proper angle to the meridians. (But areas nearer the equator appear smaller than similar areas nearer the poles.) This map could not be fully applied to its intended use (sailing) until nearly 200 years later.
smaller than what
The Mercator projection is best suited for viewing small areas like towns or resorts because it preserves angles and shapes, making it useful for navigation and local orientation. Its distortion increases with distance from the equator, but for smaller regions, this distortion is minimal and does not significantly impact the representation. Consequently, it provides a clear and easily interpretable layout for local planning or tourism purposes.
Well the Peter's Projection IS a "real map," as you say; or rather, another projection. There are hundreds out there and none are better than any others. It just depends on what you're using it for. The Peter's Projection is just an image of the world that, when it was brought out in 1974, was different than anyone had previously seen, since the Mercator projection in 1596. The Peter's Projection basically is a more accurate version of what you are referring to as a "real map." A Mercator projection shows the shapes of land masses as they appear on a globe, but flattened out, which gives an extremely inaccurate picture of the size of the masses. (For instance, it shows Greenland as being roughly the same size as Africa, when in fact it 14 times smaller!!) The Peter's was created in order to show the true size of land masses, in a more fair representation. It does, however, sacrifice true shape.The best thing you can do is look at images of several projections next to each other so that you can see what I mean.Check out website with URL in related links for Explanation & Guide of the Peters World Map.