science

Israeli Transverse Mercator

Israeli Transverse Mercator is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Israeli Transverse Mercator rather than just read about it. In short: Israeli Transverse Mercator (ITM), also known as the New Israel Grid (NIG; Hebrew: רשת ישראל חדשה, רשת ישראל החדשה Reshet Yisra'el Ha-Ḥadasha) is the official projected coordinate system for Israel since 1998. It is based on the transverse Mercator map projection, optimized for Israel.

Key takeaways

Israeli Transverse Mercator belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Israeli Transverse Mercator to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Israeli Transverse Mercator from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Israeli Transverse Mercator (ITM), also known as the New Israel Grid (NIG; Hebrew: רשת ישראל חדשה, רשת ישראל החדשה Reshet Yisra'el Ha-Ḥadasha) is the official projected coordinate system for Israel since 1998. It is based on the transverse Mercator map projection, optimized for Israel. ITM has replaced the old Israeli Cassini Soldner (ICS) coordinate system, also known as the Old Israel Grid (OIG).

The need for a new grid ITM replaced the Old Israel Grid (OIG) (Hebrew: רשת ישראל ישנה), also known as the Israel Cassini Soldner (ICS), which was based on the Cassini-Soldner projection. ICS in turn was a simple modification of the Palestine grid used during the British mandate. The central meridian in the new projection, as in the old one, crosses through Jerusalem. The new grid has two main advantages. One is that the Transverse Mercator projection is better for navigation than Cassini-Soldner. The other is that ICS was based on a 19th-century reference ellipsoid (approximation of the shape of the Earth) and this was replaced by a more accurate approximation. Additional information on the creation of the new grid is available in Hebrew.

Examples An ITM coordinate is generally given as a pair of six digit numbers (excluding any digits behind a decimal point which may be used in very precise surveying). The first number is always the Easting and the second is the Northing. The easting and northing are in metres from the false origin. The ITM coordinate for the Western Wall in Jerusalem is 222286 632556, which means

E 222286 m N 631556 m The first figure is the easting and means that the location is 222,286 meters east from the false origin (along the X axis). The second figure is the northing and puts the location 631,556 meters north of the false origin (along the Y axis). Also notice how the easting in this example is indicated with an “E” and likewise an “N” for the northing. The table below shows the same coordinate in 3 different grids:

Grid Parameters The ITM coordinate system is defined by the following parameters: Projection Transverse Mercator Reference ellipsoid

Origin Point

False Origin

Parameters for conversion to WGS84 Reference ellipsoid

Shift

Rotation

Scale

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Israeli Transverse Mercator

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Israeli Transverse Mercator claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Israeli Transverse Mercator before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Israeli Transverse Mercator ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Israeli Transverse Mercator

In research: Israeli Transverse Mercator appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Israeli Transverse Mercator in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Israeli Transverse Mercator is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Geodesy, Geographic coordinate systems, Geography of Israel, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Israeli Transverse Mercator outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Israeli Transverse Mercator in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Israeli Transverse Mercator means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Israeli Transverse Mercator out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Israeli Transverse Mercator in simple terms?

Why does Israeli Transverse Mercator matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Israeli Transverse Mercator?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Israeli Transverse Mercator.