EXERCISE #1: THE GEOGRAPHIC GRID/TIME ZONES/MAP SCALE
Materials:
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Text: Chapter 2, “Maps”
Goode’s World Atlas
The Geographic Grid
1.
Latitude measures _____________ distances, and longitude measures____________distances.
2.
What is the maximum degrees of Longitude?________Of latitude?________
3.
The Prime Meridian is at ___________degrees longitude.
4.
The Equator is at _____________degrees latitude.
5.
The International Date Line is at ____________degrees longitude.
6. What is the approximate circumference of the Earth at the equator?____________
7.
List the Standard Meridians in degrees of Longitude (don’t forget to add the E/W designation)
and a major city closest to these Standard Meridians.
MERIDIAN
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CITY
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MERIDIAN
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CITY
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Using your atlas, find each of the following cities and give as closely as possible the latitude and longitude
of each. Estimate to the nearest degree or half-degree.
New York, N.Y.
Capetown, South Africa
Shanghai, China
Honolulu, Hawaii
London, England
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Clemson, S.C.
lat._______
lat._______
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What error has been made in each of the following latitude/longitude coordinates? Circle the error and
explain below.
(a) Lat. 5 degrees S, long. 191 degrees W.
(b) Lat. 96 degrees N, long. 88 degrees E.
(c) Lat. 21 ½ degrees E, long. 177 degrees E.
(d) Lat. 94 degrees S, long. 103 ½ degrees N.
(e) Lat. 48 degrees N, long. 188 degrees N.
One degree of latitude at the equator has a standard length value of 68.704 miles. What is the length of one
minute of latitude? Of one second of latitude?
Length of 1 min (in miles).: _____
Length of one second (in miles) ________
What is the length in feet of one second of latitude? ________ (HINT: there are 5,280 feet in a mile)
If the Prime Meridian is the “beginning” of longitude, what is the “end” of longitude called? Describe what
happens there.
Time Zones
STANDARD TIME AND WORLD TIME ZONES:
Use the following code designation of zones:
AST
Atlantic Standard Time
EST
Eastern Standard Time
CST
Central Standard Time
MST
Mountain Standard Time
PST
Pacific Standard Time
You can find a map of time zones in your Goode’s World Atlas.
Give the time zone code and the standard meridian (in degrees of longitude) for each of the following
places:
Cleveland, OH
Las Vegas, NV
El Paso, TX
Chicago, IL
Denver, CO
Montreal, PQ
Halifax, NS
Vancouver, BC
Chicago
Time Zone
Standard Meridian
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Clock differences between cities: If it is 4:00 p.m. in Los Angeles, what time is it in New York?
If it is Friday in Los Angeles and you fly to Tokyo (across the Pacific), what day is it in Tokyo?
If it is 3:00 p.m. in Moscow, what time is it in far eastern Russia?
When it is 10 a.m. Wednesday in Sydney, what time and day is it in London England? ______ In
Anchorage, Alaska? ______.
When it is 8 a.m. Friday in Los Angeles, what time and day is it in Tokyo, Japan? ________
Why aren’t time zone boundaries always straight lines?
Which country has the greatest number of time zones?___________
How many zones are in that country? _______
Map Scale
Write this out and don’t forget it! The greater the detail, the ________ the scale. The less the detail, the
_______ the map scale.