What are latitude and longitude ?
The latitude of a point is defined as the elevation angle of that point above or below the equator. On the globe, lines of constant longitude (“meridians”) extend from pole to pole, like the segment boundaries on a peeled orange. The longitude of a point is defined as the marked value of that division where its meridian meets the equator. NASA provides an explanation of latitude and longitude with diagrams.
In Monday’s post I talked about the North Coast Geotourism form through which you can submit locations of interest; on Tuesday I mentioned that the only tricky part of the form was getting the latitude and longitude coordinates, and on Tuesday I explained how to do this online. If you want some background on what latitude and longitude mean, read on. You don’t need any of what follows in order to locate the coordinates of a point — only to understand what these coordinates mean; but if you are interested in the background, this is for you. They are those lines you see drawn on maps and globes. Imagine the Earth has been sliced in wedges like an orange, from its North Pole to its South Pole; each cut would represent a meridian. The imaginary “slice” line on which the Greenwich observatory sits, in England, is by international convention the prime meridian, our “zero” meridian. Next, imagine that the Earth is also sliced in the other direction, but in parallel slices instead of wedges, i
If the Earth were flat, rectangular coordinates (x,y) would be sufficient to describe the locations of points on its surface. However, Earth is a sphere with no sides, and a special frame of reference is needed. The poles of Earth provide this reference frame. The equator is an imaginary circle around the Earth located halfway between the north and south poles. Other lines drawn parallel to the equator but shifted to the north or south are called lines of latitude. At the equator the latitude is 0, halfway to the pole it is 45, and at the poles it is 90 Lines running north/south through the poles are called lines of longitude (or meridians). Longitude is the number of degrees east or west of the prime meridian (0) which passes through Greenwich, England.
Page Description: Give students practice with geographic coordinates. In this printable worksheet, students will read a map and answer questions about latitude and longitude. Grade Levels: 6 – 12 The full page is available ONLY to subscribers. Sign up today for a free 7-day trial to get access to this page and all of the 20,000 items on TeacherVision.
Latitude and longitude are both measurements that people can use to find where they are on Earth. With very precise instruments, a person can pinpoint his or her location within inches using latitude and longitude. The discovery and refinement of latitude and longitude were vital to early navigators, and the principles continue to be used on a daily basis both at sea and on land. Discovering your precise latitude and longitude coordinates in the modern era is as easy as purchasing a global positioning satellite receiver, which can communicate with satellites over the Earth to triangulate your position.
