Map and Spatial Interpretation Flashcards

A floor plan shows a room labeled as 15 ft × 20 ft. An officer must clear the room. What is the total area of the room?

Answer: 300 square feet

Area = length × width = 15 ft × 20 ft = 300 square feet.

A suspect vehicle was last seen heading eastbound and then made a U-turn. In what direction is the vehicle now traveling?

Answer: West

A U-turn reverses direction 180°, so eastbound becomes westbound.

On a map, which symbol most commonly represents a police station or public safety building?

Answer: A blue shield or star

Police stations are typically marked with a blue shield or star symbol on standard municipal and emergency services maps.

An officer establishes a perimeter 3 blocks north, 3 blocks south, 3 blocks east, and 3 blocks west of a crime scene. How many city blocks does the square perimeter span along all four outer edges combined?

Answer: 24 blocks

Each side of the square perimeter is 6 blocks long (3+3), and with 4 sides: 4 × 6 = 24 blocks total.

A map shows a one-way street with an arrow pointing west. An officer at the east end needs to travel to the west end under normal (non-emergency) conditions. What should the officer do?

Answer: Drive through — the arrow points toward the destination

The arrow points west, which is the direction the officer needs to travel — this is the legal direction of travel on this one-way street.

A tactical map uses a grid reference system where 'Delta-7' means column D, row 7. Officers must cover the entire Delta column from row 1 to row 10. How many grid squares must they search?

Answer: 10

The Delta column spans rows 1 through 10, which is exactly 10 grid squares.

A witness facing east says the suspect ran 'straight ahead' after turning the corner. In what compass direction did the suspect flee?

Answer: East

If the witness is facing east, 'straight ahead' from that perspective means the suspect fled east.