Quiz on Mercator Sailing

Mercator Sailing is primarily used to determine the course and distance between two points that are located on:

• The same latitude

• The same longitude

• Different latitudes and longitudes

• The equator only

In Mercator Sailing, the difference in latitude (D’Lat) and difference in longitude (D’Long) are used to find the:

• Course angle and departure

• Course angle and distance

• Departure and mid-latitude

• Parallel and meridian

What is the main advantage of Mercator Sailing compared to Plane Sailing?

• It can be used for long distances accurately

• It ignores changes in longitude

• It is only suitable near the equator

• It eliminates the need for meridional parts

The “meridional parts” used in Mercator Sailing refer to:

• The measured distance between meridians

• The longitude difference in miles

• The length of one minute of longitude at the equator

• The length of one minute of longitude on a Mercator projection

Which of the following must be computed from tables in Mercator Sailing?

• Difference of Latitude

• Difference of Longitude

• Meridional Parts

• Departure

The formula used to find the course angle (θ) in Mercator Sailing is:

• tan θ = Dep / D’Lat

• tan θ = D’Long / D’Lat

• tan θ = D’Long / DMP

• tan θ = DMP / D’Long

The difference of meridional parts (DMP) between two latitudes represents:

• The east-west distance between two points

• The north-south difference of latitude

• The north-south distance along the meridian on the Mercator chart

• The mean latitude

If the course and distance between two points are known, Mercator Sailing allows you to find:

• Only the difference of longitude

• Both D’Lat and D’Long

• Only the difference of latitude

• Only the departure

Mercator Sailing assumes that:

• Meridians converge toward the poles

• Meridians are parallel and equally spaced

• The Earth is a perfect sphere

• The scale increases equally toward the poles

Which of the following is not a characteristic of Mercator Sailing?

• The rhumb line appears as a straight line

• It is based on the Mercator projection

• It accurately represents areas near the poles

• It uses meridional parts for calculations