topographic maps HELP!!!?

Question

I have 2 questions about topographic maps

1) How is a topographic map different from a profile?

2) What does a mountain look like on a topographic map? (I know the answer to this but can't really explain it that well.)

thanks <3

Answer 1

1) The map is an aerial view. The profile is a side view. Both are 2D representation of 3D areas

2) A mountain is displayed as concentric rings of contour lines. If the mountain is steep the contour lines are closer together. If the slope is gentler, then they are farther apart.

Answer 2

A topographic map is like the bird's eye view.

A profile would be a cross section of the terrain.
(So it would be like you cut the mountain right down the middle and were looking at one half of it)

A mountain would look like progressively smaller circles until you reach the peak. Sort of like concentric circles. You just need to make sure the contours are increasing and not decreasing because a sink would look the same if you had no numbers to tell you whether the circles were increasing in elevation or decreasing.