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A_________ is used to show large areas like continents or countries on a paper.

Answer
VerifiedVerified
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Hint: These are generally found on the outer edge of a map, usually near the map's key ( basically a set of symbols that also make the map easier to understand).

Complete solution:
The scale of a map generally refers to the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance present on the ground. The relationship that exists between the real world size of a geographic feature and its representative feature on a map is called scale. Scale is frequently represented as a ratio between the real world size and the size in units on a map. There are basically three main ways in which a scale is indicated on a map: graphic (or bar), verbal, and representative fraction (RF).
This basic concept is said to be complex because of the curvature of the Earth's surface, that forces the scale to vary across a map. Due to this variation, the concept of scale becomes meaningful in two distinct ways.
The first way refers to the ratio of the size of the generating globe to the Earth’s size. The generating globe refers to a conceptual model to which the Earth is shrunk and from which the map is also projected. The ratio of the Earth’s size to the generating globe's size is known as the nominal scale (= principal scale = representative fraction). Many maps state that the nominal scale as well as may even show a bar scale (sometimes merely called a 'scale') in order to represent it.
The second distinct concept of scale is generally applied to the variation in scale across a map. It refers to the ratio of the mapped scale of point to the nominal scale. In this case 'scale' means the scale factor meaning (= point scale = particular scale).
There exists two main types of map scales: bar and lexical.

Note:
Any type of scale can be used for a map, but still some common scales have been settled on for use by most organizations: 1:24,000 - primary scaled is used by USGS for mapping the United States in topographic form. 1 inch on the map equals 24000 inches in the real world, which is the same as 2,000 feet.