Commack Schools



Latitude, Longitude and Time Zones

Why is it important to have a global coordinate system and a universal system for telling time?

Why?

Every location on earth has a global address. Because the address is in numbers, people can communicate about locations on Earth no matter what language they might speak. A global address is given as two numbers called coordinates. The two numbers are a location's latitude and its longitude. Latitude is North or South of the equator (0°) and goes to the North and South Pole (90°). Longitude is East or West of the Prime Meridian (0°) and goes to the International Date Line (180°). The coordinates are written with latitude first and longitude second, similar to (x, y) coordinates.

1. On the map above, use a highlighter to highlight the Equator, the Prime Meridian and the International Date Line.

2. Shade and label the hemispheres as follows:

a. Label the North East Hemisphere “NE” and color it yellow

b. Label the South East Hemisphere “SE” and color it blue

c. Label the North West Hemisphere “NW” and color it orange

d. Label the South West Hemisphere “SW” and color it green

3. Plot the following coordinates as an “X” and label them on the map above:

E: 0o, 105o East F: 60o North, 60o West G: 0o, 0o H: 55o South, 120o East

4. Determine the coordinates of the center of the white dot for each lettered location on the map above:

A: ___________________________________ B: ___________________________________

C: ___________________________________ D: ___________________________________

Read This!

Degrees of latitude and longitude work great for large maps of the world. However, if we zoom in to a particular location such as New York State, we have to then subdivide the degrees into minutes and seconds. Note: these minute and second subdivisions have nothing to do with time! There are 60 minutes (') in every one (1) degree, and 60 seconds (") in every one (1) minute. Remember that since the map on page 3 in y our ESRT only shows New York State, it is able to pinpoint places more precisely than a world map, however it is still a large map so it only uses degrees and minutes. Note that 1° = 60’.

USE PAGE 3 IN YOUR ESRT TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

1. Determine the latitude and longitude coordinates for the following locations in NYS:

|City |Latitude |Longitude |

|Jamestown | | |

|Rochester | | |

|Albany | | |

2. Using the map scale on page 3 and a piece of scrap paper, determine the distance from Elmira to Jamestown in both miles and km:

_____________________________ km ______________________________ mi

3. Polaris is the North Star. It is always located in the Northern sky. Its angle above the horizon is equal to the latitude of the observer. If you are located in Jamestown, what is the angle above the horizon of Polaris?

_____________________

4. When viewed from Oswego, how many degrees above the horizon will you find Polaris?

_____________________

5. Will the North Star be higher in the sky when viewed from Riverhead or Old Forge? Explain.

_________________ Explain _______________________________________________________

6. Explain what would happen to the angle of Polaris in the sky if you were to travel from Slide Mt. to Mt.

Marcy?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

USE PAGE 4 IN YOUR ESRT TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

1. Using a straight edge, highlight the Equator, the Prime Meridian, and the International Dateline.

2. What is the latitude and longitude coordinate of top of the “A’s” of the following continents as shown on the map? Be sure to include N, S, E, or W!

South America: __________________________

Australia: _______________________________

North America: __________________________

Asia: __________________________________

USE PAGE 5 IN YOUR ESRT TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

1. Using a straight edge, highlight the Equator, the Prime Meridian, and the International Dateline.

2. What are the coordinates of the following features shown on the map above? Be sure to include directions, N, S, E, and W!

Hawaii Hot Spot: ___________________________

Galapagos Hot Spot: ________________________

Canary Islands Hot Spot: _____________________

San Andreas Fault: __________________________

3. What would the altitude of Polaris be as viewed from the Iceland Hot Spot? _______________________

6. From which hot spot would you view Polaris at an altitude of 45°? ________________________

Read This!

In 1883, Earth was divided into 24 time zones. The United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) has four time zones which are indicated by different shadings on the map below. Each zone is roughly centered on lines of longitude that are 15° apart. These longitude lines are shown as dashed lines on the map. Most locations within a time zone have the same time. This time is called standard time. If you move to the west, or left, on a map time decreases and if you move to the east, or right, on a map time increases.

1. Determine the Earth’s rate of rotation.

a) How many degrees are in a complete circle (rotation)? ______________________

b) How many hours does it take Earth to complete one full rotation (sun-up to sun-up)? ________

c) Plug in the data and solve the equation: Earths rate of rotation = ________degrees

Hours

Earths rate of rotation is _______ degrees every hour.

2. Using the Earths rate of rotation from #1 above, if you traveled 60° to the west, how many hours’ time difference would there be? _________ Would the time be later or earlier? _____________

3. Using the Earths rate of rotation from #1 above, how many degrees would you travel in 2.5 hours? _________________

4. Below is a map of the United States. As you can see the time zones do not exactly follow the lines of longitude (dotted lines). Why do you think the actual time zones are not perfectly aligned with the lines of longitude? ____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

5. Using the map below, if it is Noon in San Francisco, what time would it be in Buffalo? ______________

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D

B

C

A

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