Map Skills Warm – Ups (1 – 30)
(#1)
a) What is the name of the imaginary line that divides the earth into the Northern
and Southern Hemispheres? Equator
b) Which of the following is not a state: Rhode Island, Louisiana, or Sacramento?
(map 6) Sacramento
(#2)
a) What are the names of the four hemispheres of the earth? Eastern, Western,
Northern, Southern
b) What part of a map explains what the map’s symbols mean? Key
(#3)
a) Is the tropic of Cancer north or south of the equator? (map 1) North
b) Name the four oceans of the earth according to size, largest to smallest. Pacific,
Atlantic, Indian, Arctic
(#4)
a) What does a dot on a map usually mean? (map 6) City
b) A point of land extending into a body of water may be a peninsula or a Cape.
(#5)
In the early days of our country, many towns were built near the ocean or along rivers.
Explain why. Water was needed for transportation and for water supply. Early roads
were poor, so boat travel was faster and easier.
(#6)
a) Which of the following might be of use to a cartographer: aerial photographs, axle
and wheels, or handles? Aerial Photographs
b) What is the definition of a peninsula? Find an example of a peninsula on a map.
(map 1) A peninsula is an area of land extending into a body of water.
(#7)
a) Name the five Great Lakes. (map 6) HOMES – Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie,
Superior
b) Which of the following is not a city: Seattle, Kentucky, Miami, or Chicago? (map
6) Kentucky
(#8)
a) Find on a map an example of a body of land that is smaller than a continent and
that is completely surrounded by water. What term is used to describe this type of
land? Island
b) What is the northernmost point in the world called? The southernmost? North
Pole and South Pole
(#9)
a) Which term doesn’t belong: South America, United States, or North America?
Why? United States because it is not a continent.
b) Which two continents are the first and second largest in area: Antarctica and
Australia, North and South America, or Asia and Africa? Asia and Africa
(#10)
Why are the Great Lakes important to the United States and the world? They provide
transportation routes for the shipment of goods, are a source of water for humans and for
agricultural use, and are a resource for a variety of recreational activities.
(#11)
a) Greenland is considered part of North America. Which country claims
Greenland? (map 1) Denmark
b) What does a star on a map usually mean? (map 1) State or Provincial Capital
(#12)
a) Write a definition of gulf. Then locate on a map the Gulf of Mexico, the world’s
largest gulf. (map 1) A gulf is a large part of an ocean or sea that extends into
land.
b) What is the capital of North Dakota, a state admitted to the United States in 1889
(map 6)? Bismarck
(#13)
a) Are east, west, north, and south called the cardinal directions or the ordinal
directions? Cardinal
b) After a hurricane, much of the sand on one popular New Jersey beach had been
washed away by the huge waves. Is this an example of corrosion or erosion?
Erosion
(#14)
a) Does the Mississippi River form the eastern or western boundary of Illinois? (map
6) Western
b) A (n) Strait is a narrow body of water connecting two larger bodies of water.
(#15)
Hurricanes are one kind of natural event that can cause people great problems. List as
many other natural events that can cause people great problems as you can think of.
Explain how one of these events affects people. Several examples could include –
Blizzards, ice storms, cyclones, typhoons, floods, tidal waves (tsunamis), avalanches,
tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.
(#16)
a) If you went from Denver, Colorado, to Bismarck, North Dakota, in which
direction would you be going? (map 6) Northeast
b) Which term refers to the condition of the atmosphere over a long period – weather
or climate? Climate
(#17)
a) Which state is farther north, North Dakota or Maine? (map 6) North Dakota
b) Which two countries border Mongolia? (map 3) China, Russia
(#18)
a) Which is farther east: the capital of Cuba or the capital of Nicaragua? What are
the names and approximate latitudes of the two cities? (map 1) Havana (82
degrees west), the capital of Cuba, is farther east than Managua (86 degrees west),
the capital of Nicaragua.
b) Looking south from Quito, Ecuador, which is the next capital city in South
America? (map 2) Lima, Peru
(#19)
a) To which continent does Central America belong? North America
b) Which two Central American countries have capital cities that are named after
saints? El Salvador (San Salvador) and Costa Rica (San Jose)
(#20)
Draw an outline map of the contiguous United States. Label as many states as possible.
(map 6) Label a map with the 48 states correctly.
(#21)
a) Write a sentence or two using each of these words at least once: Pacific, North
America, United States, Arctic, and Atlantic. The United States is in North
America, a large continent that borders the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans.
b) The Island of Bermuda is a colony of which nation? (map 1) United Kingdom
(#22)
a) If a state is outside the contiguous United States, what does this mean? It’s not
part of the connected 48 states.
b) What is the capital of Alaska? (map 6) Juneau
(#23)
a) Write your address with the following information: name; street with number;
city; county, parish, or census division; state; country; continent; hemisphere;
planet. Answers will vary by student.
b) Which four continents touch the Indian Ocean? Asia, Africa, Antarctica, Australia
(#24)
a) Which part of a map tells the relationship of distance shown on the map to the real
distance on earth? Scale
b) Which countries does Mexico border? (map 1) Belize, Guatemala, United States
(#25)
What are the capitals of the countries whose shared border forms the dividing line
between the continents of North and South America? Find the latitude and longitude of
each city. Panama City (Panama) at 9 degrees North and 79 degrees West. Also Bogota
(Columbia) at 5 degrees North and 75 degrees West.
(#26)
a) Which Caribbean island has the second largest land area? Hispaniola
b) Which river flows just south of Cincinnati, Ohio? (map 6) Ohio River
(#27)
a) What is the capital of the state that is bordered by Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri,
and Oklahoma? (map 6) Topeka (Kansas)
b) The prime meridian (which is also called the Greenwich meridian) passes through
which three continents? Europe, Africa, Antarctica
(#28)
a) Which has the smaller scale: a map on which 1 inch equals 100 miles, or a map on
which 1 inch equals 200 miles? Map on which 1 inch equals 200 miles.
b) Bolivia is one of two landlocked countries in South America. What is the other
country? (map 2) Paraguay
(#29)
a) If you are in downtown Chicago and facing north, which way (left or right) would
you turn and in which direction would you go to reach Lake Michigan? (map 6)
To the right, east.
b) Mexico City is the capital of Mexico. Is Mexico City north or south of the tropic
of Cancer? (map 1) South
(#30)
Explain why 0 degrees longitude and 180 degrees longitude are not designated east or
west. Answers will vary but should indicate an awareness that they are the beginning and
ending lines for measuring distances east and west, and that, unlike the North and South
Poles, they are arbitrarily chosen.