Which projection family includes Polyconic, Bonne, and Lambert Conformal Conic forms as conical projections?

• A. Polyconic Projections
• B. Gnomonic Projections
• C. Mercator Projections
• D. Cylindrical Projections

Answer: (A)

Projections are grouped by the surface used to produce the map. A conic projection uses a cone as the projection surface, and the Polyconic family builds on that idea by using a set of cones (a polycone) for the meridians. When you tailor that cone construction with the right parameters, you can obtain well-known conic forms such as the Lambert Conformal Conic and the Bonne as specific cases. So the Polyconic Projections family is the umbrella that includes Polyconic itself along with these conic forms, tying them together by the same cone-based approach. The other families—gnomonic, Mercator, and Cylindrical—rely on planes or cylinders and don’t encompass these particular conic variants.