Here EPSG:32616 WKT, both are same
PROJCS["WGS 84 / UTM zone 16N",
GEOGCS["WGS 84",
DATUM["World Geodetic System 1984",
SPHEROID["WGS 84", 6378137.0, 298.257223563, AUTHORITY["EPSG","7030"]],
AUTHORITY["EPSG","6326"]],
PRIMEM["Greenwich", 0.0, AUTHORITY["EPSG","8901"]],
UNIT["degree", 0.017453292519943295],
AXIS["Geodetic longitude", EAST],
AXIS["Geodetic latitude", NORTH],
AUTHORITY["EPSG","4326"]],
PROJECTION["Transverse Mercator", AUTHORITY["EPSG","9807"]],
PARAMETER["central_meridian", -87.0],
PARAMETER["latitude_of_origin", 0.0],
PARAMETER["scale_factor", 0.9996],
PARAMETER["false_easting", 500000.0],
PARAMETER["false_northing", 0.0],
UNIT["m", 1.0],
AXIS["Easting", EAST],
AXIS["Northing", NORTH],
AUTHORITY["EPSG","32616"]]
Best Answer
The first (WGS 1984 UTM 33 North) has map units of meters, while the second has decimal degrees. If you're talking about a two-dimensional display, the WGS 1984 (decimal degree) data is often displayed using a "pseudo-Plate Carrée" projection. That is, the decimal degrees are treated as if they're linear units and the features are just displayed. A standard Plate Carrée projection would convert the degrees to radians and then multiply by the semimajor axis or radius of the geographic coordinate reference system.
Depending on software and whether data is in a projected or geographic coordinate reference system, there may be different functions available. For instance, in ArcMap, the Measure Tool can provide planar (projected) or geodesic-based distances if the data frame (map) coordinate reference system is projected.