Maps and Map Keys — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. On most maps, blue stands for water.
Lakes, oceans, and rivers all look blue from above, so mapmakers fill those shapes with blue to show water.
2. Green on a map usually shows grass, trees, or a forest.
A forest is full of green trees and bushes, so green shading is the natural choice to show a forest on a map.
3. Brown areas on a map often stand for mountains or hills.
Brown is the color of rocky dirt and cliffs. When you see brown patches, that is how mapmakers show mountains rising above the land.
4. A map legend explains what each symbol and color means.
The legend is like a tiny dictionary for the map. It shows each symbol next to its meaning so readers can decode the map.
5. White or tan on a map can show flat, dry land.
Tan and white look like sand or dry soil, so mapmakers often pick those colors for flat, dry land like deserts and plains.
6. A thick red line on a road map usually means a highway.
Highways are big, important roads, so mapmakers draw them as thick red lines that stand out more than the thin lines used for small streets.
7. Maps use colors so readers can tell different areas apart.
If every area looked the same, a map would be hard to read. Using different colors lets your eyes quickly tell water apart from land or forest.
8. A lake on a map is usually colored blue.
A lake is a big body of water, and since water is shown in blue on maps, lakes are drawn as blue blobs you can spot right away.
9. To know what each color means, you should look at the map key.
Colors change from map to map, so the map key is the only sure way to find out exactly what each color stands for on the map you are reading.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each map color to what it usually shows.
Blue
→ Water
Flat dry land
Green
→ Forests or parks
Mountains or hills
Brown
→ Mountains or hills
Water
White or tan
→ Flat dry land
Forests or parks
Each color is chosen to match how the real land looks: blue like water, green like leaves, brown like rocky soil, and tan like dry sand or grass.