Question

part 1: a look at the planar/mercator map projection
the mercator projection is a type of map that shows the earths surface on a flat piece of paper. developed by flemish cartographer gerardus mercator in 1569, this projection is widely recognized for its ability to maintain constant directions for sea navigation. however, its important to note that the mercator projection distorts the size of land masses, making areas near the poles appear much larger than they actually are. for example, greenland looks almost as big as africa on a mercator map, when in reality, africa is about 14 times larger! despite this drawback, the mercator projection remains useful for certain purposes, such as online mapping services and navigation apps, due to its ability to preserve shape and direction, but that comes at the expense of accurate size representation.
how does the mercator projection distort earth?

Explanation:

The Mercator projection distorts Earth by stretching areas near the poles. As latitude increases, the scale along the north - south direction increases, making land masses near the poles appear much larger than their actual size while preserving shape and direction.

Answer:

It stretches areas near the poles, making land masses there appear larger than they are in reality while maintaining shape and direction.