The maximum area error of the Lambert Zenithal projection is equal to what value?

• A. 0
• B. 10
• C. 5
• D. 2

Answer: (B)

Lambert zenithal projections introduce area distortion that grows with distance from the center. The direction from the center to any point is preserved, but true area isn’t, so the farther you are from the zenith, the larger the distortion. In the standard form of this projection used in practice questions, the worst-case area distortion occurs at the outer edge and amounts to 10 percent. So the maximum area error is 10 percent. Zero would imply perfect area preservation (not the case here), and smaller numbers like 5 or 2 would indicate less distortion than the maximum at the edge.