3. World of Coordinates
Complete solutions to the Exercise. Maharashtra State Board (Balbharati), Grade Six Geography.
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Exercise
(1) Choose the correct option by matching the right pairs from the ‘A’ and the ‘B’ groups.
| ‘A’ | ‘B’ |
|---|---|
| 1. Tropic of Cancer | B. 23° 30′ North |
| 2. Tropic of Capricorn | A. 23° 30′ South |
| 3. The Antarctic Circle | D. 66° 30′ South |
| 4. The Arctic Circle | C. 66° 30′ North |
- a) 1 – A, 2 – B, 3 – C, 4 – D
- ✓ b) 1 – B, 2 – A, 3 – D, 4 – C
- c) 1 – C, 2 – D, 3 – A, 4 – B
- d) 1 – D, 2 – C, 3 – B, 4 – A
Answer: b) 1 – B, 2 – A, 3 – D, 4 – C
An easy way to remember: Cancer and Arctic are in the North; Capricorn and Antarctic are in the South. The tropics are at 23° 30′ and the polar circles at 66° 30′.
(2) Identify which are the true statements about latitudes and longitudes and choose the correct option.
- The 0° latitude divides the Earth into two equal hemispheres. — True
- The 0° and the 180° longitudes together divide the earth into the eastern and the western hemispheres. — True
- The length of all the longitudes is equal. — True
- All latitudes are of the equal length. — False
- A) 1, 3, 4
- ✓ B) 1, 2, 3
- C) 1, 2, 3, 4
- D) 1, 2, 4
Answer: B) 1, 2, 3
Every longitude is a semicircle running from pole to pole, so all longitudes have the same length. Latitudes are circles whose size keeps decreasing from the equator towards the poles, so they are not of equal length.
(3) Examine the following statements, correct the incorrect statements and rewrite.
1. All longitudes converge at the north and the south poles.
Correct
2. The consecutive longitudes are parallel to each other.
Incorrect
Corrected statement: The consecutive latitudes are parallel to each other. (Longitudes are not parallel; they meet at the poles.)
3. The 180° longitude is the base longitude.
Incorrect
Corrected statement: The 0° longitude (the Prime Meridian) is the base longitude.
4. The base longitude divides the Earth into the northern and the southern hemispheres.
Incorrect
Corrected statement: The base latitude (the equator) divides the Earth into the northern and the southern hemispheres. (The base longitude, together with the 180° longitude, divides it into the eastern and the western hemispheres.)
5. The equator is also called the Great Circle.
Correct
The equator is the largest latitude and is also called the base latitude or the Great Circle.
In each group, three items share a common feature and one does not. Find the odd item on a globe and give the reason.
(1) The tropic of Cancer, the tropic of Capricorn, the Equator, the base longitude
Odd item: the base longitude — the other three are latitudes, while the base longitude (0°) is a longitude.
(2) The 90° East, 90° West, the 5° East, 90° North
Odd item: 90° North — the other three are longitudes, while 90° North is a latitude; it is the North Pole, which is a point.
(3) Brazil, India, Japan, China
Odd item: Brazil — India, Japan and China lie in the eastern and northern hemispheres, in Asia. Brazil lies in the western hemisphere, in South America, and the equator passes through it.
(4) Moscow, Delhi, Sydney, Tokyo
Odd item: Sydney — Moscow, Delhi and Tokyo are in the northern hemisphere. Sydney, in Australia, is in the southern hemisphere.
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Figure 3.15 is a view of the globe from directly above a pole. The centre of the figure is the pole, the two circles are latitudes, and the two straight lines crossing at the centre are longitudes.
(1) The figure 3.15 represents which hemisphere?
The Northern hemisphere — the inner circle is marked 60° North, so the centre of the figure is the North Pole.
(2) How many circles are shown in the figure?
2 — an outer circle and an inner circle.
(3) How many latitudes are shown in the figure?
2 — both circles are latitudes. (The North Pole, 90° N, at the centre is a point, not a circle.)
(4) How many longitudes are shown in the figure?
4 — each straight line through the pole is made of two longitudes. The four are 0°, 90° East, 180° and 90° West.
(5) Names of how many circles can be expressed for sure?
2 — the inner circle is the 60° North latitude, as marked. The outer circle is the Equator (0°), because a hemisphere is bounded by the equator.
Latitudes run east–west as parallel circles; longitudes run north–south from pole to pole.
- Direction: Latitudes are imaginary lines drawn from east to west. Longitudes are imaginary lines drawn from north to south, joining the two poles.
- Shape: Latitudes are complete circles. Longitudes are semicircles.
- Parallel or not: All latitudes are parallel to each other. Longitudes are not parallel; they converge at the North and South Poles.
- Length: Latitudes are of different lengths — the equator is the largest and they become smaller towards the poles. All longitudes are of equal length.
- Base line: The base latitude is the 0° Equator, also called the Great Circle. The base longitude is the 0° longitude, the Prime Meridian, which passes through Greenwich.
- Hemispheres: The equator divides the Earth into the northern and southern hemispheres. The 0° and 180° longitudes together divide it into the eastern and western hemispheres.
- Values: Latitudes are measured from 0° to 90° North and South. Longitudes are measured from 0° to 180° East and West.
- Number (at 1° interval): There are 181 latitudes, of which 179 are circles and the two poles are points. There are 360 longitudes.
- Distance between two consecutive lines: Between two latitudes it is 111 km everywhere. Between two longitudes it is 111 km at the equator and decreases towards the poles, where it becomes 0 km.
| Line on the map | Name to write in the box |
|---|---|
| 66° 30′ N | The Arctic Circle |
| 23° 30′ N | The Tropic of Cancer |
| 0° (horizontal line) | Equator |
| 23° 30′ S | The Tropic of Capricorn |
| 66° 30′ S | The Antarctic Circle |
| 0° (vertical line) | The base longitude |
(1) From which oceans and continents do all the longitudes pass?
All longitudes meet at the two poles. The North Pole lies in the Arctic Ocean and the South Pole lies in Antarctica, which is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. So every longitude passes through the Arctic Ocean, the Southern Ocean and the continent of Antarctica.
(2) From which oceans and continents does the Equator pass?
Continents: South America, Africa and Asia (through the islands of Indonesia).
Oceans: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
(3) From which continents and oceans does the prime meridian pass?
Continents: Europe, Africa and Antarctica.
Oceans: the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Ocean.
(4) From which continents do both the 0° circles pass?
Africa — it is the only continent through which both the Equator (0° latitude) and the Prime Meridian (0° longitude) pass. The two lines cross each other in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Gulf of Guinea, just south of the African coast.
(5) How many latitudes on the globe are circular in shape?
179 — at an interval of 1°, 181 latitudes can be drawn. The 90° North and 90° South latitudes are the two poles, which are points, so the remaining 179 are circles.
The Activity — drawing the graticule of latitudes and longitudes in the circle given in the textbook — is to be done by you. Draw the equator and a few latitudes as straight lines across the circle, and the longitudes as curved lines joining the North and South Poles.