1. All About Latitude and Longitude
Prime Meridian
Equator
Bailey
Middle
School
All About Latitude and Longitude
Mr. Gillespie © August 2012 (reviewed by Mr. White, Ms. Everett, and Ms Rozvodoska)

2. Earth’s Grid System
Ships of long ago had to keep track of their speed on long voyages because they had no other way to tell how far they had traveled. Ships often became lost. For example, a storm might blow them far away from where they wanted to go. 26

3. The map shows exactly where Pablo lost his iPhone.
What people needed was a way to tell exactly where they were on Earth’s surface—their absolute location. They also needed to be able to find their way to any other absolute location.
The map shows exactly where Pablo lost his iPhone. 27

4. The drawing to the right shows a grid system.
What they needed was a grid system that covered the entire Earth. You know that a grid is made up of two sets of lines that cross each together. A grid system that covered the whole Earth would let anyone find any location on Earth. We have such a grid today. We call it latitude and longitude.
The drawing to the right shows a grid system. 28

5. 23. In which box do you find the image of Darth Vader
23. In which box do you find the image of Darth Vader? Identify it by letter and number. 29

6. 24: In Austin, The W Hotel (marked in yellow) is at the corner of which two streets?30

7. Using Latitude and Longitude
Latitude lines, called parallels, run east and west around Earth. Longitude lines, called meridians, run north and south. Latitude and longitude are measured in degrees. The shape of the Earth is a sphere. It is 360 degrees around a sphere. Each degree of latitude or longitude is 1/360th of the distance around Earth. The symbol for degree is °.
Parallels run east-west around the globe. The Equator is a parallel. Meridians run north-south around the globe. 31

8. 25: What do you call lines that run east-west around the globe?32

9. Question 26: What do you call lines that run north-south around the globe?33

10. Question 27: Lines of latitude are also called p_________?34

11. Question 28: Lines of longitude are also called m_________?35

12. The objects at left are two dimensional
The objects at left are two dimensional. They have height and length but no depth. A sphere has three dimensions since it has depth, too. TV’s Bart Simpson is two dimensional. You are three dimensional.
Question 29: Which shape shown in the illustration is a two dimensional version of a sphere? 36

13. Question 30: How many degrees are there in a circle?37

14. Question 31: What fraction (example 1/520th) of a circle is each line of latitude? Hint: there 360º in a circle. 38

15. Question 32: Which symbol to the left is the symbol for degrees
Question 32: Which symbol to the left is the symbol for degrees? Write the letter of the symbol on your answer sheet. € 39

16. Using Latitude and Longitude (continued)
The starting point for measuring degrees of latitude is the Equator. The Equator is a line of latitude. It divides Earth into two equal parts. The equator runs east and west all the way around the world, halfway between the North and South Poles. The Equator is at 0° latitude. When we give the latitude of a place, we must state whether the place is north or south of the Equator. For example, the North Pole is at 90° north latitude. If we said only that a place was at 90° latitude, we would not know if the place was the North Pole or the South Pole. 40

17. Question 33: Is the Equator a line of latitude or a line of longitude?41

18. Question 34: Is the Equator a parallel or a meridian?42

19. Question 35: Which line on the globe is found at 0º latitude?43

20. Austin is located at 30º latitude*.
Question 36: What word is missing from this description of the location of Austin?
Austin is located at 30º latitude*.
Hint: you must have this word when you give a location of a place on the globe or else people won’t be able to find it.
* To provide and even more exact location, lines of latitude are usually given in degrees and minutes. Austin’s location is then 30° 16‘—but that definition is still missing a word. 44

21. Question 37: Which imaginary point is located at 90º south latitude?45

22. Using Latitude and Longitude (more)
The starting point for measuring longitude is called the Prime Meridian. Meridian is another name for a longitude line. Earth does not have an east pole or west pole.
Therefore, some point had to be chosen as the starting point for measuring longitude. Through international agreement, Greenwich, England, was chosen as that place. All longitude is measured from the Prime Meridian that runs from the North and South Poles through Greenwich, England.
The Prime Meridian is at 0° longitude. When we give the longitude of a place, we must state whether the place is east or west of the Prime Meridian. 46

23. Question 38: In which country will you find the east pole on the globe
Question 38: In which country will you find the east pole on the globe? China, Japan, Australia, India, or none? (If you need to review this topic, see page 46.) 47

24. Question 39: Is the Prime Meridian a line of latitude or a line of longitude? (If you need to review this topic, see page 46.) 48

25. Question 40: Is the Prime Meridian parallel or a meridian
Question 40: Is the Prime Meridian parallel or a meridian? (If you need to review this topic, see page 46.) 49

26. Question 41: You are traveling from the South Pole to the North Pole along the line of 0º longitude and visiting Greenwich, England on the way. What is the name of the line on the globe along which you’ll be traveling? 50