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Why do contour lines never cross on a topographic map?

Answer 1

Victoria Argento

Contour lines are used to represent elevation on a contour map.

Each contour line represents a different elevation, and you can't have two different elevations at the same point.

An example would be how 500 meters above sea level will never be equivalent to 1000 meters above sea level.

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Answer 2

Audrey Adams

Contour lines never cross on a topographic map because each contour line represents a specific elevation above sea level, and at any given point on the map, there can only be one elevation. If contour lines were to cross, it would indicate that the same point has two different elevations, which is not possible.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.