Which of the following statements is incorrect?

• A. The true meridians at different places are parallel to each other.
• B. True meridians at different places converge toward the poles.
• C. The scale is constant along the standard parallels.
• D. The distortion of a projection changes with latitude.

Answer: (A)

True meridians are lines of longitude on the Earth that connect the North and South Poles; they are not parallel. In fact, all meridians converge toward the poles, which is why the statement that they are parallel is false. The other ideas line up with how map projections behave: meridians do meet at the poles, scale can be true along standard parallels in conic projections, and projection distortion changes with latitude, being minimized along standard parallels and increasing away from them.