Latitude and Longitude

Multiple Choice

If you are 45 degrees south of the equator, which of the following must be true:

• Your longitude is 45° E.

• You are in the Western Hemisphere.

• You are lost.

• Your latitude is 45° S

Latitude and Longitude

Labelling

Correctly identify the parts of the map.

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Legend

Title

Scale

Compass Rose

Hotspot

Correctly identify the Atlantic Ocean

Poll

Imagine you are lost in the middle of the ocean. There are no street signs, no buildings, and no GPS on your phone. All you have is a map and the stars above you. How could anyone possibly figure out exactly where you are on the planet?

• By following the waves until they reach land

• By using latitude and longitude to find a location on the map

• By counting how many miles you have traveled since leaving shore

• By guessing based on the direction of the wind

Sailors hundreds of years ago had to solve this problem, and they discovered a system that we still use today: latitude and longitude.

​Latitude and Longitude

​Latitude and Longitude

​Latitude and longitude are a pair of invisible lines that crisscross the globe to create a grid. This grid lets us find any location on Earth.

Latitude lines run east to west, but they actually give us a location that is a certain number of degrees north or south of the equator. If you were 50 degrees north of the equator, your latitude would be 50° N. Think of them like the horizontal rungs of a ladder. The equator is the starting point at zero degrees, and the numbers go up to ninety degrees north at the North Pole and ninety degrees south at the South Pole. Because latitude lines never intersect, they are also known as parallel lines. You can remember it this way: Latitude lines are flat!

​

Making Sense of the Lines

Latitude lines are like invisible steps that go across the Earth. We measure them in degrees, and we use the symbol ° to show it. The equator is the starting point at 0° latitude.

If you move north of the equator, you are 1° North (1° N), then 2° N, and the numbers keep getting bigger the farther north you go. If you move south of the equator, you are 1° South (1° S), then 2° S, and so on. Travelers and sailors use these latitude lines to figure out how far north or south they are from the equator.

For example, if a captain says his ship is at 1° N, that tells us the ship is just a little north of the equator.

Most maps don’t show every single line of latitude. Instead, they mark some of the bigger ones. On this map, you can see a line at 15° N, then another at 30° N, and so on. At the very top of the globe, the North Pole is at 90° N.

​Latitude Lines

Multiple Choice

What is the name of the imaginary line found at 0° latitude?

• Prime Meridian
• Equator
• Tropic of Cancer
• International Date Line

Multiple Choice

Which of the following describes a line of latitude?​ ​
​

• 
  90° S

• 40° E

• 30° W

Dropdown

The latitude of the North Pole is ​

Select answer

Multiple Choice

Lines of latitude above the equator are which direction?

• North
• East
• South
• West

Multiple Choice

Below the equator, the parallels are which direction?

• South

• East

• Diagonal
• West

Longitude

Longitude lines are another set of invisible lines on the globe, but they don’t run sideways like latitude lines. Instead, they go up and down from the North Pole to the South Pole, almost like the sections on a peeled orange. We also measure them in degrees (°).

The starting line for longitude is called the Prime Meridian, and it is marked as 0° longitude. It runs through a place called Greenwich, England. If you move east from the Prime Meridian, you’ll see 10° East (10° E), 20° E, and so on. If you move west, you’ll see 10° West (10° W), 20° W, and so on.

Most maps don’t show every single longitude line either. Instead, they usually show some of the bigger ones. All the longitude lines meet together at the North Pole and the South Pole.

​

​Longitude Lines

Multiple Choice

What is the name of the imaginary line found at 0° longitude?

• International Date Line
• Prime Meridian
• Tropic of Cancer
• Equator

Multiple Choice

Lines to the left of the prime meridian are which direction?

• East

• West

• North

• South

Multiple Choice

Lines to the right of the prime meridian are which direction?

• East

• West

• North

• South

Draw

Trace the Prime Meridian in Red

Trace the longitude lines west of the prime meridian Blue.

Trace the longitude lines east of the prime meridian Yellow.

How does latitude and longitude help the captain know where he is and where he is going? Longitude gives you east-west information. Latitude gives you north-south information. When you put them together, you can know exactly where you are.
For example, your captain knows that the ship is at 15° N and 90° W. This means that the ship is at the spot where those two lines cross. The two numbers are called coordinates. When we write the coordinates of a location, we write the latitude first (north or south) and then the longitude (east or west). We separate the two with a comma.
Find the line of latitude labeled 15° N. Place your right index finger on this line. Then find the line of longitude labeled 90° W. Place your left index finger on it. Now follow the two lines with your fingers until they meet. The point where the two lines meet is exactly where your ship is.

​

​Latitude and Longitude

Multiple Choice

Which of the following represents the correct way to write the coordinates of a point?

• 
  81° N, 15° W

• 81° NORTH. 15° WEST.

• 81° N-15° W

• 
  15° W, 81° N

Hotspot

Find 30° E and 20° North.

Hotspot

Which US city has a longitude closest to 80° W?

Home

Open in new tab

Copy link