Question

which type of map projection has the least distorted surface images?
mercator projection
conic projection
mollweide projection
equal - area projection

Explanation:

Mercator projections heavily distort polar areas. Conic projections distort areas far from their standard parallel. Mollweide is an equal-area projection but still has shape distortion. Equal-area projections preserve the relative size of all regions, minimizing overall surface image distortion compared to the others, as they prioritize accurate area representation which reduces the most impactful surface distortion for many use cases.

Answer:

equal-area projection