Social Note (2) for grade 7

Latitudes and Longitudes

A. Latitudes and parallels
Latitudes: Are angular distances measured north and south of the equator in
degrees.
Parallels: Are imaginary lines drawn on globes or maps joining all points with the
same latitude in degrees north and South of the equator.

 They run East-West direction.

They are closer and smaller at north and south pole.
Equator: - is the origin of latitude, it's numbered 0 degree.
Place north of the equator have north latitude and places south of the
equator have south latitude.
North pole's latitude is 90 degree N.
South pole's latitude is 90 degree S.

 Place north of the equator have north latitude and places south of the
equator have south latitude.
North pole's latitude is 90 degree N.
South pole's latitude is 90 degree S.
The location of a place relative to the equator determines the amount of
sunlight it receives.

 Fig 1.3 shows five important latitudes, they are used as benchmarks for
telling the amount of sunlight reaching various parts of the surface of the
earth.
1. The low latitudes or tropics
the equator receives more direct sunlight than any place on earth.
Areas near the equator are usually hot all year round.
Both the tropic of cancer (23 1/2 degree N) and tropic of Capricorn ( 23 1/2
degree S ) receive vertical Sunrays.
This happens on solstices.
 2. Middle Latitudes or temperate regions:
They are found between the tropic of cancer ( 23 1/2 degree N ) and the
Arctic circle ( 66 1/2 degree N ) and the tropic of Capricorn ( 23 1/2 degree
S ) and the Antarctic circle ( 66 1/2 degree S ) in the South .( 23 1/2 degree -
66 1/2 degree N and S ).
3. High Latitudes and the Arctic and Antarctic circles: (66 1/2 degree N or S).
Both have at least one day of complete sunlight and darkness each year.
This occur on solstices.

 These areas receive little heat from the sun and, therefore they are cold.
Each year both North and South poles have Six months of daylight and six
months of darkness.
B. Longitudes and Meridians
Longitudes: are angular distances measured to the east and west of the
prime meridians in degree.
Meridians:

 Are imaginary lines drawn on globes or maps joining all points with the
same longitudes in degree.
Distance between meridians is known as Longitude.
The prime Meridian or 0 degree longitude
The mid-point like equator from which longitude can be measured, is called
prime meridian.

 Half of the earth That lies east of the prime meridian has east longitude up
to 180 degree, and the half that lies west of prime meridian has west
longitude up to 180 degree.

C. TRAVELLING IN TIME
Local mean time
Time varies with longitude.
 The earth rotates on its axis from west to east.
This motion of the earth determines the length of a day.
The sun moves across the sky at its Zenith.
This happens at noon time.
All places located along a given meridian see the sun equally.
They have also similar noon time.

 But the time East or West of this line will see the sun equally, due to
longitudinal variation in time, places observe varied Local Mean Time (
L.M.T ).
Ex the earth completes one rotation or 360 degree in 24 hours.
That mean every 15 degree equals one hour and four minutes for a degree.
The L.M.N for the east always ahead.