Relative and Absolute
Location
Where Are WE?
How Do We Get There?
• There are two ways to answer this
question….if you would like to determine a
place’s location relative to someplace else,
then you are looking at its RELATIVE
LOCATION.
• For Example: Kentucky is south of Ohio. OR
• Meet me at the Starbucks that is next to Izzy’s
on Mall Road.
Relative Location
• We are going to focus on Relative
Location for a moment. I would like for
you to be able to refer to places on a
map in terms of where they are located
relative to other places….. And I want you
to use your cardinal and intermediate
directions correctly.
Let’s Review
• Cardinal Directions • Intermediate
• NORTH
Directions
• South
• East
• West
•
•
•
•
Northeast
Southeast
Northwest
Southwest
Your Task
• Open you textbook to pages R46-R47.
• Use the map on those pages and answer the
following five questions:
– 1. China is ________________of Thailand.
– 2. Libya is _________________ of Egypt.
– 3. Peru is _______________ of Brazil.
– 4. Spain is _________________ of France.
– 5. Yemen is ______________ of Saudi Arabia.
Your Task
• Using the maps in the back of our textbook write
three statements using Cardinal directions and
three statements using intermediate directions.
• Make sure you write the page number of the map
you are using next to each sentence.
• Example:
• Map Page R49……Honduras is southwest of Cuba.
Absolute Location
• Where a place is SPECIFICALLY located.
• This is done in one of two ways.
1. A person given you an exact address.
For example: 2304 Oakview Court
Hebron, KY 41048
2. Using imaginary lines of Latitude and
Longitude
For example: 65°N / 32°W
Understanding Latitude and
Longitude
Let’s SEE what we can
LEARN!
System of Imaginary Lines
• Now let’s look at the grid system that has
been created to help us locate any point on a
map.
• To do this we used lines of Latitude and lines
of Longitude.
Latitude and Longitude
• The earth is divided into lots of lines called
latitude and longitude.
North, South, East and West on The
Earth
Y
• Let the X axis be the Equator.
• Let the Y axis be the Prime
Meridian
X
that runs through Greenwich
outside
of London.
• Latitude and Longitude are
the 2 grid points by
which you can locate any
point on earth.
East West, North South on the Earth
(N, W)
Prime Meridian
• That means all points
in North
America will have a
North latitude and a
West longitude
because it is North of
the Equator and West
of the Prime
Meridian.
East West, North South on the Earth
Prime Meridian
• What would be the
latitude and
longitude
directions in
Australia?
Lines of Latitude
• Lines that run east and west but measure
distance north and south of the equator.
• Latitudes lines are always written first
when given the coordinates of a place.
• They will always be either North or
South.
Where is 0 degree Latitude?
• The equator is 0 degree latitude.
• It is an imaginary belt that runs halfway
point between the North Pole and the
South Pole.
Equator
What is Latitude?
90°N
Y
X
90°S
• Latitude is the distance
from the
equator along the Y
axis.
• All points along the
equator have a value of
0 degrees latitude.
• North pole = 90°N
• South pole = 90°S
• Values are expressed in
terms of degrees.
Lines of Longitude
• Lines that run north and south
around the earth, but measure
distance east and west of the Prime
Meridian.
• They will always be either east or
west
P
Where is 0 degree
Longitude?
• The prime meridian is 0
degrees longitude. This
imaginary line runs
through the United
Kingdom, France, Spain,
western Africa, and
Antarctica.
M
E
R
R
I I
D
M
I
E A
N
What is Longitude?
Y
180°W
• Longitude is the distance
from the prime meridian
along the X axis.
• All points along the
X
prime meridian have a
value of 0 degrees
longitude.
• The earth is divided into
two parts, or
180°E
hemispheres, of east
and west longitude.
What is Longitude?
Y
X
180°W
180°E
• The earth is
divided into 360
equal slices
(meridians)
• 180 west and 180
east of the prime
meridian
So Where is (0,0)?
• The origin point
(0,0) is where the
equator
intersects the
prime meridian.
• (0,0) is off the
western coast of
Africa in the
Atlantic Ocean.
East West, North South on the Earth
N
W
S
• Let each of the
four quarters
E
then be
designated by
North or South
and East or
West.
East West, North South on the Earth
(N, W)
(S, W)
(N, E)
(S, E)
• The N tells us we’re
north of the Equator.
The S tells us we’re
south of the Equator.
• The E tells us that we’re
east of the Prime
Meridian. The W tells us
that we’re west of the
Prime Meridian.
See If You Can Tell In Which Quarter
These Latitude and Longitude Are
Located
A
C
•
•
B •
D •
•
•
1. 41°N, 21°E
2. 37°N, 76°W
3. 72°S, 141°W
4. 7°S, 23°W
5. 15°N, 29°E
6. 34°S, 151°E
• 1. B
• 2. A
• 3. C
• 4. C
• 5. B
• 6. D