Review Your Globe Knowledge
The equator serves as the dividing
line when the Earth is divided into
Northern and Southern
hemispheres. The Earth can be
divided into hemispheres in other
ways as well. One way is to divide
the globe into Eastern and Western
hemispheres. The Eastern
Hemisphere starts at the Prime
Meridian and includes the
continents of Europe, Asia, Africa,
and Australia. The Western
Hemisphere goes the other
direction starting at the Prime
Meridian and includes the
continents of North America and
South America. This division was
established by early mapmakers and
explorers, who came from Europe,
which explains why the starting
point, the Prime Meridian runs
through Greenwich, England.
Two sets of imaginary lines are used
to locate places on the Earth. Eastwest lines are latitudes, also called
parallels and north-south lines are
longitudes, also called meridians.
When placed over each other, the
lines form a pattern called a grid.
Latitudes are used to measure
distance from the equator, either
north or south. Latitude is
measured in degrees starting at the
Equator with 0° and moving north
and south to 90° at the poles. The
North Pole is at 90 degrees (90°)
North latitude and the South Pole is
at 90 degrees (90°) South latitude.
There are other special parallels.
The Arctic Circle and the Tropic of
Cancer are north of the equator.
The Antarctic Circle and the Tropic
of Capricorn are south of the
equator.
Meridians measure distance east or
west of the Prime Meridian. This
distance is called longitude and is
also measured in degrees.
Meridians are often called lines of
longitude.
The Prime Meridian is at 0°
longitude. East Longitude extends
to the east of the prime meridian
and West Longitude extends to the
west of the Prime Meridian. Both
East and West Longitudes extend
halfway around the earth. Since
there are 180° in a half circle (a full
circle has 360°), there are 180° of
East Longitude and 180° of West
Longitude. On a globe or world map,
180° East Longitude and 180° West
Longitude are the same line.
Review Questions: (use your maps to
answer the following questions)
Oceans and Continents:
Name:
Date:
Per:
6) In which hemispheres is South America
located?
1) In which hemispheres is most of
North America located?
7) In which hemispheres is Australia
located?
2) In which hemispheres is Africa
located?
8) In which hemispheres is the Pacific
Ocean located?
3) In which hemispheres is Europe
located?
9) In which hemispheres is the Indian
Ocean located?
4) In which hemispheres is Antarctica
located?
Special Parallels
5) In which hemispheres is most of Asia
located?
1) Which special parallel is found at
66 ½ ° N?
2) Which special parallel is found at
23 ½°S?
3) Which three continents extend north
of 66 ½ ° N?
3) If you were halfway between the
North Pole and the equator, you would be
at _____________.
a) 45°N
4) Which ocean is located north of
66 ½ °N?
c) 20°N
4) If you were at the Antarctic Circle,
you would be the same distance from the
equator as someone who was at ______.
a) 23 ½ °S
5) Through which three continents does
the Tropic of Cancer pass?
b) 40°N
b) 23 ½° N
c) 66 ½° N
5) You would be closer to the South Pole
than to the equator if you were at
__________.
a) 40°S
b) 45°S
c) 50°S
6) Meridians meet at the ___________.
6) Through which three continents does
the Tropic of Capricorn pass?
a) equator
b) poles c) Prime Meridian
7) All of Africa is east of __________.
a) 20°W
Latitude and Longitude
Choose the correct answer and complete
the sentence with the best answer.
b) 20°E
c) 0° longitude
8) If your position were 40°N and 20°E,
you would be in __________________.
a) S. America b) Europe c) Africa
1) The farthest point south on Earth is
at _____________.
9) If your position were at 20°S and
60°W, you would be in
______________________.
a) 40°S
a) Europe
b) 0° Latitude
c) 90°S
2) If you were at 60°N, you would be
farther from the equator than someone
who was at ____________.
a) 20°N
b) 80°N
c) 60°S
b) Africa
c) S. America
10) What is the latitude and longitude
location for San Francisco, CA?
____________