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Home > Contour line


A contour line (also isopleth, level set, isogram or isarithm) for a function of two variables is a curve connecting points where the function has a particular value. A contour map is a map showing contour lines.

The gradient of the function is always perpendicular to the contour lines. When the lines are close together the gradient is large: the variation is steep.

Different types of contour lines are given different names according to the nature of the quantity involved:

"Iso" can be replaced with "isallo" to give it the meaning of a line connecting points where some variable has changed at the same rate during some time period.

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CartographyCartography (or mapmaking is the study and practice of making maps or globes. Maps have traditionally been made using pen and paper, but the advent and spread of computers has revolutionized cartography. Most commercial quality maps are now made with map Multivariate calculusMultivariate calculus is a means of analyzing deterministic systems with multiple degrees of freedom. Functions with independent variables corresponding to each of the degrees of freedom are often used to model these systems, and the calculus provides too

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