What fruit was used to explain why a round surface cannot be accurately represented on a flat surface to explain map projections?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: What fruit was used to explain why a round surface cannot be accurately represented on a flat surface to explain map projections?
Options given: only one option present - an orange.
Starting with the single provided option, we assess its validity: 
- Correctness: An orange is the classic demonstration used in cartography to illustrate the distortion that occurs when trying to flatten a spherical surface (the Earth) onto a plane (a map). The idea is that the orange’s curved surface and its peel can be imagined as a representation of a globe’s surface; attempting to lay it flat reveals distortions similar to those seen in map projections. Providing the orange as the example aligns with common teaching analogies in geography and cartography. 
- Why this is the appropriate example: The orange serves as a tangible, intuitive model of how a curved surface cannot be perfectly flattened without distortions in area, shape, distance, or direction. This matches the core concept behind map projections and why no perfect flat representation exists. 
- Consideration of alternatives (inference): Since no other options are listed, there is no need to compare against other fruits, but broadly, the key idea would be that any curved surface cannot be mapped without distortion, which is why the orange example is widely used to illustrate this concept. 
- Misconceptions to avoid: Some might think a fruit like a lemon or apple could serve equally well, but the canonical teaching example for illustrating the intrinsic distortion of projection is the orange (peel analogy) because it more closely resembles an unbroken curved surface that can be conceptually unrolled. However, with any curved surface, flattening introduces distortion, which is the central point being conveyed by the orange analogy.
Overall, the provided option 'an orange' correctly identifies the traditional fruit used for explaining the flattening distortion in map projections.

W25 GEO D010 63Z World Regional Geography Introduction to Geography Quiz

What fruit was used to explain why a round surface cannot be accurately represented on a flat surface to explain map projections?

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