science

Portrait of Canada

Portrait of Canada 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 Portrait of Canada rather than just read about it. In short: Portrait of Canada is a 10-minute 1959 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the postwar Canada Carries On series. The film, directed by Guy Glover, described the creation of the All Canadian Atlas.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Portrait of Canada is a 10-minute 1959 Canadian documentary film, made by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of the postwar Canada Carries On series. The film, directed by Guy Glover, described the creation of the All Canadian Atlas. The film's French version title is L'Atlas du Canada.

Synopsis Canadian mapmakers 400 years ago relied on hand-drawn maps derived from personal accounts by explorers, fur traders and settlers. These maps were limited to coastlines and partial interior views. Explorers like Samuel de Champlain, Jacques Cartier and David Thompson made their own maps. Later explorers and prospectors were often the first to go into uncharted regions, and their information on the land was invaluable in drawing up the maps of the time. In 1959, the new All Canadian Atlas is a product of the joint efforts of geologists, meteorologists, prospectors, agronomists, draughtspersons, naturalists and especially, the Royal Canadian Air Force. Aerial photography was essential in mapping the vast north of Canada. In 1948, No. 413 RCAF Squadron/No. 13 (Photographic) Squadron flying specially converted Avro Lancaster 10P aircraft undertook the task of mapping Canada's Arctic. Three large islands were discovered and one island near Baffin Island was named "Air Force" in their honour. With all the accumulated data from photographs, the mapmakers of the All Canadian Atlas consulted with interested parties from government, industry and academia to ensure that all relevant information is included. Each of the 500 maps contains a wealth of information, depicting Canada in a hundred different ways from political boundaries, settlement, urban development, habitats, mineral and agricultural areas, temperatures and climates, transportation and industry to provide an accurate portrait of Canada in the late 1950s.

Production Portrait of Canada was a short informational documentary in the NFB's films Canada Carries On series (first created as a wartime series). The film was a compilation documentary that combined newsreel material with animated sequences and original footage, including aerial footage from the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Reception Portrait of Canada was produced for television broadcast on CBC Television. Individual films were distributed worldwide by the NFB and were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. A total of 199 films in the Canada Carries On series were produced before the series was canceled in 1959.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Portrait of Canada

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Portrait of Canada 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 Portrait of Canada 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 Portrait of Canada 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 Portrait of Canada

In research: Portrait of Canada 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 Portrait of Canada 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: Portrait of Canada is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1959 Canadian films, 1959 English-language films, 1959 films, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Portrait of Canada 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 Portrait of Canada in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Portrait of Canada in simple terms?

Why does Portrait of Canada 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 Portrait of Canada?

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 Portrait of Canada.