Vertical exaggeration is calculated as horizontal scale divided by vertical scale.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. Cannot be determined
• D. Depends on units

Answer: (B)

Vertical exaggeration measures how much vertical relief is amplified on a map by comparing the horizontal and vertical drawing scales. It is defined as the horizontal scale divided by the vertical scale, so you’re effectively asking: how many times bigger is the horizontal unit on paper than the vertical unit on paper?

For example, if the map uses 1:10,000 horizontally and 1:2,000 vertically, VE = 10,000 / 2,000 = 5. That means vertical features are drawn five times larger relative to the horizontal scale, exaggerating relief by a factor of 5. If the scales are the same, VE is 1 (no exaggeration); if the vertical scale is finer (larger denominator) than the horizontal, VE becomes greater than 1; if the vertical scale is coarser (smaller denominator), VE can be less than 1, indicating compression rather than exaggeration.

Since the ratio uses the scales themselves, it is determined directly from the given scales and the units cancel, so it’s not about the units.