science

Pop-up maps

Pop-up maps 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 Pop-up maps rather than just read about it. In short: The Pop-Up or Unfolds, or in full The World Unfolds, is a name given to any one of a range of patented, self-folding subject guides and street maps for cities around the world published by VanDam, Inc.. The first Unfolds pop-up map was designed and published in the 1984 by Stephan Van Dam as part of a series of 18 international maps which American Express offered to card members.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The Pop-Up or Unfolds, or in full The World Unfolds, is a name given to any one of a range of patented, self-folding subject guides and street maps for cities around the world published by VanDam, Inc.. The first Unfolds pop-up map was designed and published in the 1984 by Stephan Van Dam as part of a series of 18 international maps which American Express offered to card members. The Unfolds Pop-Up format was licensed in custom formats by clients such as Walt Disney Company, Warner Brothers, Museum of Modern Art, Rand McNally, National Park Service, Bertelsmann, TED (conference), BMW, Pfizer, Marvel Entertainment, MTV Books and Berlitz Corporation among others. A series of educational guides called The Cosmos Unfolds with guides to the universe, Mars, Moon, Ocean, Desert and Rain Forest were published by Putnam-Berkley in the US and Canada. In 2010 The Museum of Modern Art accessioned 27 of Van Dam's pop-up maps into its permanent collection. VanDam, Inc. continues to publish the Pop-Up and Unfolds street maps to many cities around the world. VanDam, Inc. also publishes in other formats including StreetSmart, StreetSmartMini, HistoryMapped, ArtSmart, ShopSmart, 2.5 and Urban@tlas.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pop-up maps

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pop-up maps 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 Pop-up maps 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 Pop-up maps 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 Pop-up maps

In research: Pop-up maps 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 Pop-up maps 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: Pop-up maps is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Maps, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pop-up maps 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 Pop-up maps in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pop-up maps 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 Pop-up maps out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pop-up maps in simple terms?

Why does Pop-up maps 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 Pop-up maps?

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 Pop-up maps.