What does latitude mean in social studies?

Latitude is the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator. It is measured with 180 imaginary lines that form circles around the Earth east-west, parallel to the Equator.

What are latitudes in social studies?

Ans: The imaginary lines that run vertically from the north to the south are called longitudes and the imaginary lines circling around the Earth from east to west are called latitudes.

What does latitude and longitude mean in social studies?

Longitude is related to latitude, the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator. Lines of latitude are called parallels. Maps are often marked with parallels and meridians, creating a grid. The point in the grid where parallels and meridians intersect is called a coordinate.

What does latitude mean in simple terms?

Definition of latitude



1 : angular distance from some specified circle or plane of reference: such as. a : angular distance north or south from the earth’s equator measured through 90 degrees an island located at 40 degrees north latitude. b : a region or locality as marked by its latitude.

What is latitude and example?

Latitude: invisible lines that tell you where you are between the North and South Pole; can be determined by measuring the angle of the sun. Examples of important latitude lines/parallels include: Equator: 0 degrees of latitude. Arctic Circle: is 66.5 degrees north. Antarctic Circle: 66.5 degrees south.

What are the 3 types of latitude?

Technically, there are different kinds of latitude—geocentric, astronomical, and geographic (or geodetic)—but there are only minor differences between them. In most common references, geocentric latitude is implied.

What are 3 lines of latitude?

The Equator, Tropics, and Prime Meridian



All three lines of latitude are significant in their relationship between Earth and the sun.

What is latitude line?

Lines of latitude, also called parallels, are imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They run east to west, but measure your distance north or south. The equator is the most well known parallel. At 0 degrees latitude, it equally divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

What are the 5 main lines of latitude?

Important lines of latitude:

• the equator (0°)
• the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° north)
• the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° south)
• the Arctic circle (66.5° north)
• the Antarctic circle (66.5° south)
• the North Pole (90° north)
• the South Pole (90° south)

What is the main line of latitude?

The Equator

The Equator is the only line of latitude that is a great circle, all the other lines of latitude are small circles. The equator crosses 78.7% water and 21.3% land and is about 24,901 miles (40,075 km) long. The Equator is the line of zero degrees latitude around the middle of Earth.

What is the purpose of latitude lines?

Lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east–west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude is used together with longitude to specify the precise location of features on the surface of the Earth.

What is another name for lines of latitude?

Lines of latitude, also called parallels, run from east to west in circles parallel to the equator. They run perpendicular to the lines of longitude, which run from the north to the south.

What latitude is considered north?

90 degrees N

The latitude of the North Pole is 90 degrees N, and the latitude of the South Pole is 90 degrees S. Like the poles, some circles of latitude are named.

What does a higher latitude mean?

At higher latitudes, the Sun’s rays are less direct. The farther an area is from the equator, the lower its temperature. At the poles, the Sun’s rays are least direct. Much of the area is covered with ice and snow, which reflect a lot of sunlight.

What is a high latitude?

High-latitude regions – far north or south of the equator – warm faster than the global average due to positive feedbacks from the retreat of ice and snow. An increased transfer of heat from the tropics to the poles in a warmer world also enhances warming.

How do you determine latitude?

To figure out your latitude, you can measure the angle of the North Star, called Polaris, above the horizon. That is your latitude. Or, if it’s during the day, you can measure how far below a vertical line the Sun is at exactly noon (when the shadows are shortest) on March 21st or September 21st.

What is latitude and longitude meaning?

Both longitude and latitude are angles measured with the center of the earth as an origin. A longitude is an angle from the prime merdian, measured to the east (longitudes to the west are negative). Latitudes measure an angle up from the equator (latitudes to the south are negative).

How do you read latitude?

Video quote: Each minute is divided into 60 seconds for example the coordinates for the Great Pyramid of Giza as written is 29 degrees 15 8 minutes and 45 seconds north 31 degrees 8 minutes and 3 seconds east.

How do you learn longitude and latitude?

Tell students that the lines running across the page are lines of latitude, and the lines running up and down the page are lines of longitude. Latitude runs 0–90° north and south. Longitude runs 0–180° east and west. Have students write those labels on the maps.

How do I find a place using latitude and longitude?

To search for a place, enter the latitude and longitude GPS coordinates on Google Maps.



Enter coordinates to find a place

1. Decimal degrees (DD): 41.40338, 2.17403.
2. Degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS): 41°24’12.2″N 2°10’26.5″E.
3. Degrees and decimal minutes (DMM): 41 24.2028, 2 10.4418.