USCG Exam PracticePlot true course and distance between two charted points
On a Mercator projection chart, a rhumb line between two charted points appears as which of the following?
- A. A curved arc bending toward the nearest pole
- ✓ A straight lineCorrect
- C. A great circle arc
- D. A series of connected waypoints
Why B is correct
On a Mercator projection, rhumb lines (lines of constant bearing) appear as straight lines because lines of latitude and longitude are projected as straight lines crossing at right angles. This is a defining property of the Mercator projection.
Cited:Bowditch Ch. 4 §402