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This exercise using a map and a cursor asks the viewer to find the distance between two points.

For example, a student might be asked to find a distance from Bogota to the Panama Canal.  First the viewer would click on  Bogota and note the coordinates at the upper right.  These numbers represent pixels with an origin (0,0) at the lower left.

This is followed by clicking on the region most likely to be the Panama Canal and noting its coordinates.  The viewer then uses the distance formula, to find the measure in pixels from Bogota to the Canal. 

Finally, using these measurements and the map scale, the viewer converts the distance to miles or kilometers.  The viewer uses the scale to determine how to convert pixel distances on the map to ground measures in miles or kilometers.

The same JAVA Lite Applet map/graphic permits viewers to discover for themselves several different ways to estimate the area of an irregular region.

While both of these exercises are relatively simple mathematics, estimating is good for students of all ages. Moreover, finding areas of irregular regions is background for integral calculus.  In addition, the distance formula is derived from the Pythagorean Theorem.
 

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) provided the map for this exercise.  Should you choose to adapt this script, we suggest that you see the following link: 

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/mapspub/index.html