Latitude and Longitude

Mrs. Miles’Social Studies Class

BRAIN POP VIDEO

Latitude and Longitude

Latitude and longitude are two grid points by which you can locate any point of earth.

Latitude

Latitude ALWAYS comes before longitude. You can remember that because the “a” in

latitude comes before “o” in longitude.

A way to remember that Latitude runs East to West is to think about the rhyme “Lat lays flat”

Latitude

The Equator is the boundary line that divides the globe into Northern and Southern hemispheres.

The Equator registers at 0 degrees latitude.

Find the Equator on your map and highlight it.

Latitude

When you see a coordinate that says the location is 30 degrees South. That means that the location is 30 degrees below the Equator.

When you see a coordinate that says the location is 30 degrees North. That means that the location is 30 degrees above the Equator

Longitude

A way to remember that longitude lines run North to South is to find the word “long” in the word “longitude.”

The Prime Meridian is the boundary line that divides the globe into the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

The Prime Meridian registers at 0 degrees longitude

Find the Prime Meridian on your map and highlight it.

Longitude

The Earth is divided into 360 equal parts called meridians. There are 180 equal parts West and 180 equal parts East of the Prime Meridian

When you see a coordinate that says the location is 30 degrees East. That means that the location is 30 degrees to the right of the Prime Meridian.

When you see a coordinate that says the location is 30 degrees West. That means that the location is 30 degrees to the left of the Prime Meridian.

Map Skills

Looking at your Continents and Oceans Map try and find the latitude and longitude coordinates for points A and B. Write your latitude and longitude

coordinates at the bottom of you map. Once you have tried on your own turn to

your partner and share.

Map Skill Answers

The coordinates for points A and B are as follows:

A) 30 degrees N, 60 degrees W

B) 45 degrees S, 90 degrees E