Using Latitude and
Longitude
Where is the bank???
If someone asked you the location
of the local town bank, you may
say "It is on the corner of Main
and Third streets." Latitude and
longitude are like imaginary
streets on the earth.
How can I remember which lines
are which?
Latitude
Latitude lines are imaginary lines
on the earth's surface.
They run east and west around
the globe and tell you your
distance north or south of the
Equator.
Latter-tude
Think of latitude like
the rungs of a
ladder (ladder
sounds a lot like
latitude).
Latitude lines run east
and west, but they
tell how far up
(north) you can go
or how far down
(south) you can go.
Longitude
Longitude lines are imaginary lines
on the earth's surface that run
from pole to pole around the
globe and tell you your distance
east or west from the Prime
Meridian.
When you think of longitude, think of
long, tall telephone poles (because
longitude lines run from pole to pole).
Longitude lines run north and south,
but they tell how far east you can go
or how far west you can go.
Why degrees?
In the field of mathematics, circles
are measured in degrees. There
are 360 degrees in a circle. Since
the earth is basically circular, it
was decided to measure latitude
and longitude in degrees also.
Bell Ringer
Which directions do each latitude and
longitude run?
Latitude : East – West & give North South Direction
Longitude : Run Pole to Pole or North
South & give East – West Direction
The first latitude line was the Equator
(equally distant between the north
and south poles).
It is the largest of all latitude lines.
All other latitude lines are measured in
degrees north or south of the
Equator. There are a maximum of 90
degrees of latitude to the north or the
south of the Equator
Longitude
The first longitude line was the Prime
Meridian. Any meridian could have
been chosen as the Prime Meridian
because they are all exactly the same.
It passes through the Royal
Observatory in Greenwich, England.
The Prime Meridian
was selected by
international
agreement at the
International
Meridian
Conference called
by President
Chester Arthur in
October of 1884.
Representatives from
25 nations met in
Washington, D.C. All
other longitude
lines are measured
in degrees east or
west of the Prime
Meridian.
There are a maximum
of 180 degrees on
longitude to the
east or the west of
the Prime Meridian.
Center of Trade and World Time
Distance and Recording
It is approximately 70 miles
between two latitude lines. For
more accuracy in location,
degrees can be divided into
smaller parts. One degree can be
divided into 60 minutes (') and
one minute can be divided into
60 seconds ("). We will not use
minutes or seconds of latitude
and longitude in this course.
How to sound smart!
It is customary to give the latitude of a place
first, and the longitude second.
For example, you would say "35 degrees
north, 77 degrees west".
This eliminates the need to say the words
latitude and longitude.
Make sure that you give a direction with the
number. If you simply say "66 degrees
latitude", there are two of them - one in the
north and one in the south.
This will give the location of one
of your streets.
To find a latitude line
such as 60 degrees
north latitude, you
must do three
things:
1. Go to your
starting line (the
Equator).
2. Determine which
direction you must
go (north or south).
3. Determine the
distance in degrees
you must go (60).
This will give the location of one
of your second street.
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To find a longitude
line such as 40
degrees east
longitude, you must
do three things:
1. Go to your
starting line (the
Prime Meridian).
2. Determine which
direction you must
go (east or west).
3. Determine the
distance in degrees
you must go (40).
The bank is here…
Important!!!!
The Equator is neither North nor
South of the starting line, so it is
simply 0º latitude (no direction
needed).
The Prime Meridian would be 0º
longitude (no direction needed).
Notice this on the two diagrams.
Why do I even need to know this
stuff?
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Military – Missiles
WeatherHurricanes
CB Radios
Plane Crashes and
ship wrecks for
emergency
workers.
GPS
To pass my test!
Label your popsicle sticks
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One will be LATITUDE
horizontally on the
front and EQUATOR
horizontally on the
back.
The other will be
Longitude vertically on
the front and prime
meridian on the back
vertically
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L
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N
G
I
T
U
D
E
Practice Makes Perfect
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You need a latitude and longitude
grid worksheet and your markers.
This is your ticket out the door!
You may work in small groups but
each of you has to turn in a
worksheet.