GIS Interview Questions

GIS interview questions from questions-interviews.com. 

What is spatial interpolation?
1. The process of establishing values for areas outside the boundary of an existing set of data points.
2. The process of modelling spatial pattern from a set of one or more data layers
3. The process of establishing values for areas between an existing set of discrete observations
4. The process of establishing a statistical relationship between two spatially correlated variables

The process of establishing values for areas between an existing set of discrete observations.

Which of the following are considered the main problems facing overlay operations in GIS?
1. Selecting threshold criteria
2. Topological inconsistencies
3. The Modifiable Arial Unit Problem (MAUP)
4. Processing overheads
5. Visual complexity

Selecting threshold criteria
The Modifiable Arial Unit Problem (MAUP)
Visual complexity

Assuming a pair of binary raster data layers, which of the following could be used as the equivalent of a Boolean AND overlay in cartographic modelling?
1. Layer 1 – layer 2
2. Layer 1 + layer 2
3. Layer 1 / layer 2
  4. Layer 1 * layer 2

Layer 1 – layer 2
Layer 1 + layer 2
Layer 1 * layer 2

What is point-in-polygon overlay?
1. A method interpolating point data
2. An overlay method used to determine which points lay within the boundary of a polygon
3. An overlay method used to determine the distance between a point and it is nearest neighboring polygon
4. An overlay method used to reclassify polygon data

An overlay method used to determine which points lay within the boundary of a polygon

Which of the following overlay methods would you use to calculate the length of road within a forest polygon?
1. Erase
2. Union
3. Line-in-polygon
4. Point-in-polygon

Line-in-polygon

Which of the following could you use a buffer operation?
1. Calculating the distance from one point to another
2. Calculating the area of overlap between two polygon data layers
3. Determining the area within a set distance from a point, line or area feature
4. Calculating the number of observations within a set distance of a point, line or area feature

Determining the area within a set distance from a point, line or area feature

Calculating the number of observations within a set distance of a point, line or area feature

What is reclassification?
1. The process of combining one or more data ranges into a new data range to create a new data layer.
2. The process of combing two or more data layers
3. The process of simplifying data in a data layer
4. An analytical technique based on point data.

The process of combining one or more data ranges into a new data range to create a new data layer.

What is Manhattan distance?
1. The distance between two points in a raster data layer calculated as the number of cells crossed by a straight line between them.
2. The distance between two points in a vector data layer calculated as the length of the line between them.
3. The distance between two points in a raster data layer calculated as the sum of the cell sides intersected by a straight line between them.

The distance between two points in a raster data layer calculated as the sum of the cell sides intersected by a straight line between them.

Which of the following spatial interpolation techniques is an example of a local, exact, abrupt, and deterministic interpolator?
1. Thiessen polygons
2. TIN
3. Spatial moving average

Thiessen polygons

What is the difference between slope and aspect?
1. Slope is the gradient directly down the fall line, while aspect is the direction of the fall line relative to north.
2. Slope is the direction of the fall line, while aspect is the gradient of the fall line.
3. Slope is the distance down the fall line from the top of the slope to its bottom, while aspect is the percentage gradient of this line averaged over its full distance.
4. Slope is the gradient of the fall line relative to vertical, while aspect is the direction of the fall line relative to the line of greatest slope.

Slope is the gradient directly down the fall line, while aspect is the direction of the fall line relative to north.

What is location-allocation modelling?
1. A method of site location based on overlaying multiple siting criteria maps.
2. A method of allocating resources within an area of interest using buffer analyses
3. A method of matching supply with demand across a network by locating a limited set of resources using network analysis
4. A method within network analysis used to determine delivery routes

A method of matching supply with demand across a network by locating a limited set of resources using network analysis

What is the possible number of combinations in which a delivery van can visit five different points on a network?
1. 25
2. 120
3. 10
4. 3125

120

For the Happy Valley ski resort example, which GIS analyses could be used to determine which hotels are within 200m of a main road.
1. Union overlay and line-in-polygon overlay
2. Buffer analysis and erase overlay
3. Buffer and point-in-polygon overlay
4. Intersect overlay and buffer analysis
5. Proximity analysis and reclassification

Proximity analysis and reclassification
Buffer and point-in-polygon overlay

A buffer zone around a point feature will be a circle.
1. True
2. False

True

Filtering is used on raster data to change the value of a cell based on the attributes of neighboring cells.
1. True
2. False

True

Filtering could be used to smooth noisy data caused by problems with data collection devices.
1. True
2. False

True

The Jordan method used for point in polygon analysis is also known as the Intersect method.
1. True
2. False

False

It is an ecological fallacy to assume that all the individuals within a defined area have the same level of income.
1. True
2. False

True

Exact interpolation methods are so called because they give very accurate results.
1. True
2. False

False

The most common use of Theissen s Polygons is to create contour lines.
1. True
2. False

False

Slope can be calculated from the formula S = b2 - c2.
1. True
2. False

False

Ray tracing is a technique used in network analysis.
1. True
2. False

False

ZVI is the abbreviation for Zone of Varying Intensity.
1. True
2. False

False