Day 2 Navigation in the Age of Exploration

Multiple Choice

What does the word "landmarks" most likely mean in the context of the passage?

• Important natural resources along the coast.

• Features that explorers could use to guide them along familiar routes.

• Trees and rocks that were used for marking property boundaries.

• Objects that explorers carried with them to find their way.

Multiple Choice

Based on the passage, why couldn’t early European explorers rely on familiar landmarks when sailing?

• They were sailing along familiar coastlines.

• They were sailing into unknown waters with no landmarks to guide them.

• They had already discovered all the landmarks in the world.

• They were sailing only close to land where they could easily see landmarks.

Multiple Choice

What problem did early explorers face with the maps they had?

• The maps were always too detailed to read.

  
  

• The maps only showed the northern part of the world.

• The maps did not show the location of oceans.

• The maps were not always accurate.

Multiple Choice

What can be inferred about the compass based on the passage?

• It was a very complex tool that required advanced knowledge to use.

• It only worked in certain parts of the world.

• It was a simple, but useful, tool for navigation.

• It provided a way to determine the exact location of explorers.

Multiple Choice

How did early explorers use the stars to keep track of their position?

• They used the stars to find landmarks.

• They followed the movement of the stars to determine the direction of the wind.

• They used the stars to measure time.

• They relied on the positions of certain stars to figure out where they were on Earth.

Multiple Choice

What method did sailors use to keep track of their position when they didn’t have accurate maps?

• They used dead reckoning to estimate their location.

• They followed the North Star to find their position.

• They relied on a compass to measure distances.

• They mapped the entire ocean during their travels.

Multiple Choice

What does the term “knots” refer to in the context of the passage?

• The number of stars visible at night.

• A measurement of a ship’s speed, based on the rope pulled out during dead reckoning.

• A way to measure the time taken to travel.

• A system for calculating the distance between ships.

Multiple Choice

What tool did the captain use to help determine the direction the ship was heading?

• An hourglass.

• A quadrant.

• A compass.

• A map.