GIS Specialist Exam Practice Questions

Ohio Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist Exam Practice Questions And Correct Answers (Verified Answers) Plus Rationales 2025|2026 Q&A | Instant Download Pdf

• Which of the following best describes a GIS?
• A system for storing spreadsheets
• A system for capturing, storing, analyzing, and managing spatial

and geographic data

• A web mapping service only
• A GPS tracking device

Rationale: GIS is designed to handle spatial data, allowing for

mapping, analysis, and management of geographic information.

• What does the acronym “DEM” stand for in GIS?
• Digital Elevation Model
• Digital Earth Mapping 1 / 4

• Data Environmental Metric
• Digital Elevation Model

Rationale: A DEM is a representation of the earth’s surface

elevations used in terrain analysis and modeling.

• Which coordinate system uses latitude and longitude to locate

positions?

A. UTM

• Geographic Coordinate System (GCS)
• State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS)

D. MGRS

Rationale: GCS uses angular measurements (degrees) to specify

locations on the earth’s surface.

• In a shapefile, which of the following files stores attribute data?
• .shp
• .shx
• .dbf
• .prj

Rationale: The .dbf file in a shapefile stores attribute information

associated with spatial features.

• Which projection preserves area across the map?
• Mercator
• Equal-Area
• Conformal 2 / 4

• Cylindrical

Rationale: Equal-area projections maintain the relative size of areas

across the map, though shapes may distort.

• Which GIS data model represents features as points, lines, and

polygons?

• Vector
• Raster

C. TIN

• Grid

Rationale: The vector model represents discrete geographic features

with points, lines, and polygons.

• Which GIS data type is best for continuous surfaces like elevation?
• Vector
• Raster
• Shapefile
• Feature Class

Rationale: Raster data uses cells or pixels to represent continuous

data such as elevation, temperature, or imagery.

• What does GPS measure?
• Soil type
• Land cover
• Geographic coordinates using satellite signals
• Topographic slope 3 / 4

Rationale: GPS determines precise geographic locations (latitude,

longitude, elevation) through satellite triangulation.

• Which Ohio agency is primarily responsible for statewide GIS

coordination?

• ODNR Division of Wildlife
• Ohio EPA
• Ohio DOT
• Ohio Geographically Referenced Information Program (OGRIP)

Rationale: OGRIP oversees GIS standards, coordination, and data

management across Ohio state agencies.

• What is the main purpose of georeferencing raster data?
• To reduce file size
• To convert it to vector
• To assign real-world coordinates to spatial data
• To merge it with attribute tables

Rationale: Georeferencing aligns raster images to real-world

coordinate systems so they can be integrated with other spatial data.

• Which operation is used to combine two spatial layers based on

location?

• Buffer
• Overlay
• Dissolve
• Clip
• / 4