This engaging activity pack includes everything you need to teach your latitude and longitude unit. The meridian of greenwich, england, is the internationally accepted prime meridian in most cases. Apparently if you stand at greenwich then your gps will not say you are at longitude zero. The distance per degree of longitude at the equator is about 111. This pack specifically covers the gps 3rd grade standard ss3g1c locate the equator, prime meridian, and lines of latitude and longi. Meridians are counted east and west from the prime meridian. All the other longitudes are measured, and named after the angle they make with respect to the center of the earth from the intersection of the meridian and the equator. How many degrees of longitude are there to the east and west of the prime meridian. Latitude latitude is distance north or south of the equator.
Jan 05, 2010 longitude and latitude lines, as well as the equator and prime meridian are explained in this clip from dig into history with california jones. The prime meridian is a line draw from the north to the south pole and is drawn through the city of. This geographic grid gives unique latitude and longitude for every position on earth. Longitude is the distance east or west from the prime meridian just like latitude, longitude is measured in degrees. A prime meridian is the meridian a line of longitude in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0. Longitude lines to the right of the prime meridian are marked. This line is the ending point for measuring longitude. Longitude and latitude lines measure the distance from the earths equator or central axis running east to west and the prime meridian in greenwich, england. The prime or greenwich meridian is a line of reference that runs from the north pole down to the south pole through greenwich, a suburb of london. Latitude is a measurement of location north or south of the equator. The latitudelongitude data standard is a set of data elements that can be used for recording horizontal and vertical coordinates and associated metadata that define a point on the earth. Latitude lines are parallel, that is they are the same distance apart.
Hence, for a person moving east of the prime meridian, the time would be 12 hours less than the time at 0 longitude. Latitude, longitude and coordinate system grids gis geography. World longitude and latitudes map using the world longitude and latitude map and an atlas, answer the following questions and mark the locations. There is usually a quadrasphere designation as well, such as n, s, e or w, based on the equator and the prime meridian. What ocean does the prime meridian cross the equator. Chapter 1 the earth and earth coordinates latitude and longitude the. Latitude is an imaginary circle around the earth halfway between the north pole and the south pole whereas, longitude running from north to south through greenwich, england, which is measured in 360 degrees. Some of the worksheets below are latitude and longitude worksheets in pdf, learn important vocabularies like navigation, latitude, longitude, equator, prime meridian, cardinal directions, compass and gps with exercise like using your atlas, find the latitude and longitude of new york city, philadelphia, boston, berlin, tokyo, rome. Meridians of longitude indicate the number of degrees east or west of the prime meridian that a certain point lies. In 1884, the international meridian conference in washington dc determined the location of the prime meridian, or the line of longitude that is 0 degrees. Upon a vote, countries decided it would be the line of longitude that runs through greenwich, england. Latitude and longitude history latitude and longitude.
The global grid contains a principal line of latitude the equator and a principal line of longitude the prime meridian. Use the map to answer the following questions about latitude and longitude. This diagram enables business and technical users of this standard to quickly understand its general content and complexity. Together, a prime meridian and its antimeridian the 180th meridian in a 360system form a great circle. Lines of latitude are often referred to as parallels. Prime meridianthe meridian of longitude 0 degrees, used as the origin for the measurement of longitude. Prime meridian greenwich is located at united kingdom country in the notable buildings place category with the gps coordinates of 51 28 40. Strand space location, direction and movement latitude.
Figure \\pageindex3\ longitude is determined as the angle. Latitude on the spherical earth is the northsouth angular distance from the equator to the place of interest figure 1. This quiz has been created to test your basic knowledge about latitude and longitude. Vertical longitude lines to the right of the prime meridian denote east e longitude while those to the left of the prime meridian denote west w longitude. However, there is an international agreement that the meridian that runs through greenwich, england, is considered the. Define and describe prime meridian, equator, latitude and longitude locate points on a map when given latitude and longitude coordinates locate us state capitals using latitude and longitude plot latitude and longitude on a map use technology as an enrichment tool use technology as a research tool latitude and longitude lesson. Meridians of longitude indicate the number of degrees. How to determine latitude and longitude from topographic maps latitude is the distance north or south of the equator.
Next, starting at the prime meridian marked 0 degree longitude, draw vertical lines connecting the two poles in 10degree increments around to 180 degrees, until you reach the back side of the prime meridian, then begin counting back by 10 degrees 170, 160 until you reach the 0 degree longitude mark. A lines of longitude is also called a meridian, derived from the latin, from meri, a variation of medius which denotes middle, and diem, meaning day. This is a worksheet i created to assess my students understanding of map skills. As you move east and west from the prime meridian, eventually you reach 180 o e and w on the opposite side of the globe from greenwich. Whereas, the greenwich meridian or prime meridian is a zero line of longitude from which we measure east and west. One fun activity is to have the child determine exactly at what latitude and longitude they are located, or find the latitude and longitude of a famous place. The meridians of longitude refer to the angular distance, in degrees.
Lesson 4 introduction to latitude and what you will learn. Each location on the globe touches a line of latitude and a line of longitude. The other lines the ones that run vertically on the globe are called lines of longitude. Longitude is measured in the same way, although the prime meridian is more of an arbitrary midpoint than the equator note. Longitude, latitude, longitude, latitude, yes i know what longitude latitude mean.
This is because the gps reference meridian is about 100 metres to the east of the prime meridian. While interesting, i dont really think its necessary or practical to get into an extended conversation or discussion about the history of the prime meridian here. Latitude longitude latitude and longitude lines to. The prime meridian is set as 0 longitude and it divides the earth into the eastern and the western hemisphere. The earth and earth coordinates chapter one esri press. I also, as explained in the lesson introduction above. Latitude and longitude worksheet use the map to answer the following questions about latitude and longitude. Any other location directly east or west of you lies at the same latitude that you do. Degrees, minutes and seconds ddd, mm, ss is the conventional method of presentation. The longest is the equator, whose latitude is zero, while at the polesat latitudes. If we can accurately define a location to the nearest 1 second of latitude and longitude, we have specified its. Down 1 imaginary line that passes through the city of greenwich, england 2 words.
Each degree of longitude is subdivided into 60 minutes, each of which is divided into 60 seconds. As shown on the smallscale globe perspective, washington, d. Prime meridian greenwich lat long coordinates info. This great circle divides a spheroid into two hemispheres.
In this resource, there is a nonfiction reading passage based on latitude and longitude. This is the prime meridian 0 from which all other meridians radiate eastwards and westwards up to 180. The prime meridian 0 degrees longitude, on the other hand, was created by scholars who needed some point as a frame of reference to begin noting eastwest points on the map. Latitude lines run horizontally around the globe and define how far north. Did you know that the earth rotates 360 degrees every 24 hours.
The part of the earth east of the prime meridian is called the eastern hemisphere and in its west referred to as the. What is the climate like at 90 degrees south latitude. It was finally decided in 1884, by international agreement, to choose as the zero meridian the one which passes through the royal astronomical observatory at greenwich, near london. Longitude and latitude identify any place on earth. Latitude, longitude and coordinate system grids gis. Lines of longitude run from the north pole to the south pole. Latitude gives the angular distance, scientifically. The prime meridian is 0 0 and if you go half way around the world you will reach the 180longitude 180 180 line. Why is the gps reference meridian 100m to the east of the prime meridian. Latitude and longitude kettering city school district. Latitude and longitude meridians and parallels part one. The prime meridian is a line draw from the north to the south pole and is drawn through the city of greenwich, england. On the globe longitude is shown as a series of semicircles that run from pole to pole passing through the equator. The latitude longitude system is the system most commonly used to locate features on topographic and other maps.
Latitude and longitude knowledge organiser ks2 geography. Address field enter an address, city, state, place name, postal code or any other name for a location into this field and then click the find button to retrieve its latitude longitude coordinate pair. Meridians of longitude are drawn from the north pole to the south pole and are at right angles to the equator. For another person moving westward, the time would be 12 hours more than the prime meridian. This makes sense because when viewed on a globe, lines of longitude are generally lengthier than lines of latitude. How to determine latitude and longitude from topographic. Dec 29, 2019 the organiser is designed to help children to learn the relevant locational knowledge from the ks2 geography national curriculum. Latitude and longitude hortonville area school district.
As aids to locate longitudinal positions on a globe or map, meridians are plotted and drawn from pole to pole where they meet. The latitudelongitude data standard establishes the requirements for documenting latitude and longitude coordinates and related method. The prime meridian divides the globe into the eastern and western hemispheres. The prime meridian is arbitrary, meaning it could be chosen to be anywhere. Latitude by meridian altitude consider an observer on a northern latitude observing heavenly bodies x 1, x 2, x 3 and x 4 which are in the same great circle of meridian as the observer, where x 1, x 2, x 3 are on the upper meridian, and x 4 is on the lower meridian. Prime meridian in most balloons, around the sphere, you will notice that there are lines of drawn light. One grid system used by cartographers is the latitude and longitude grid. Longitude is an angular distance, measured in degrees along the equator east or west of the prime or first meridian. All other lines of latitude and longitude are named and numbered respectively from these starting lines. North or south from the equator wherever a place may be.
Latitude is the angular distance measured in degrees. Longitude and latitude lines, as well as the equator and prime meridian are explained in this clip from dig into history with california jones. Latitude lines above the equator are marked with an n for north, while latitude lines running below the equator are labeled with an s for south. Lines of latitude run all the way around the earth, but lines of longitude do not. The prime meridian, which passes through greenwich, england, is used as the zero line from which measurements are made in degrees east e and west w to 180. Latitude and longitude are measured in seconds, minutes, and degrees. Sometimes you will see longitude west of the prime meridian and latitude south of the equator designated with a negative sign instead of the letters w and s. Prime meridian the meridian of longitude 0 degrees, used as the origin for the measurement of longitude. On a globe of the earth, lines of latitude are circles of different size. Our online latitude and longitude trivia quizzes can be adapted to suit your requirements for taking some of the top latitude and longitude quizzes. The prime meridian is the line of 0 longitude, the starting point for measuring distance both east and west around the earth. All points on a given meridian have the same longitude.
Mar 04, 2012 the greenwich meridian was chosen to become the prime meridian of the world. Your result will be displayed in the box either under or to the right of the find button depending on the width. Apr 09, 2020 some of the worksheets below are latitude and longitude worksheets in pdf, learn important vocabularies like navigation, latitude, longitude, equator, prime meridian, cardinal directions, compass and gps with exercise like using your atlas, find the latitude and longitude of new york city, philadelphia, boston, berlin, tokyo, rome. Where do 0 degrees latitude and longitude intersect. Latitude and longitude are imaginary lines drawn on maps, which helps to locate places. If you know the time at a reference point, such as the prime meridian, and the time where you are now, you can use that information to calculation how far apart you are from the reference point in terms of longitude that is, if you.
The different latitude and longitude formats are as follows. Longitude is measured 180 both east and west of the prime meridian. Longitude is the distance east or west of the prime meridian greenwich, england. Though invisible, the equator 0 degrees latitude is a very real location that divides the world into the northern and southern hemispheres. Lines to the right of the prime meridian are which direction. Lines of longitude define how far east or west a location is from the prime meridian, the focus of this.
Tourists often get photographed as they straddle itone foot in the eastern hemisphere of the earth, the other in the western hemisphere. There are 90 degrees of latitude from the equator to each of the poles, north and south. These lines form the geographic grid, a grid system created for the earth, so that you can more easily describe a location on the planet. The numerical range of latitude is from 0 at the equator to 90 at the poles. Choose the best words from the box to complete each sentence. The line on the opposite side of the globe to the prime meridian is called the international date line.
The grid is made up of latitude or parallel lines and longitude or meridian lines. Latitude and longitude worksheets pdf dsoftschools. I designed this unit to be super fun, but low prep on your part. Prime meridian greenwich is located at united kingdom country in the notable buildings place category with the gps coordinates of. How to determine latitude and longitude from topographic maps. Do you know what longitude, latitude, longitude, do you know what longitude latitude mean. Any line of longitude a meridian can serve as the 0 longitude line. Lines of latitude form the top and bottom margins of the map and lines of longitude from the left and right margins. As the parallels of latitude become shorter poleward, so the meridians of longitude, which converge at the poles, enclose a narrower space. Jan 30, 2020 a comprehensive database of more than 10 latitude and longitude quizzes online, test your knowledge with latitude and longitude quiz questions. It tells how far from the equator anyplace happens to be. Together, these lines provide a reference for latitude and longitude that always zigzag into each other.
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