Lab 8 Mapping Census 2000 with ArcGIS

Overall, I am very happy that I take this Geography 7 class. With the guidance of great TA Jida and Professor Shin, my interest and sense of satisfaction in ArcGIS are further developed. Revising all the 8 labs I have done, I feel amazed about the ability I have learned for manipulating and applying GIS into mapping. In the first lab, I introduced the characteristics of the places I lived using different maps. This assignment has aroused my understanding that  different maps have different purposes. For instance, I used the weather forecast map to illustrate the moving direction of storm in Hong Kong. Next, we studied about map reading and scale conversion in the second lab. We also gain knowledge of identifying quadrangles, UTM zones, magnetic declination, and geographical coordinates as well as cropping out a feature from a map. In lab 3, I can create my own map using Google map. That was my first time to generate a route with all the geographical features. Most importantly, I realized the potentials and pitfalls of neogeography.  Furthermore, I practiced to utilize ArcGIS to produce different map layouts, integrate them with research, and analyze the results in the latter five labs. For instance, I engendered a proposed airport expansion map layout with titles, legends, scale bars, and north arrow in lab 4. Moreover, I am able to comprehend conformal, equidistant, and equal area map projections because of my practice in lab 5. As for lab 6, I carried out hillshade, slope, and aspect maps of DEMs using ArcMap. More interestingly, I was able to make and visualize a 3 dimensional map due to Arc Scene. In addition, lab 7 allows me to reflect and interpret the temporal pattern of station fire in California on a map.  Last but not least, I understand how to show spatial distribution and population density of different races and analyze the data in the last lab. Therefore, I have absorbed so much useful knowledge and techniques in this class. I appreciate the opportunity to study Introduction to GIS so I will recommend other students to take it.