Locating Places on the Earth

How maps and globes show the Earth, how directions, latitude and longitude fix a place, and why local time changes as you go east or west.

Key ideas

A globe is a round model that shows the Earth’s true shape; a map is flat and can show a small area in detail.
Every map has three parts: distance (shown by the scale), direction (an arrow pointing north) and symbols (explained in the legend or key).
A sketch is a rough drawing from memory, not drawn to scale.
Latitudes run east–west, parallel to the Equator, and tell how far north or south a place is.
Longitudes (meridians) run from the North Pole to the South Pole and tell how far east or west a place is.
A place lies where its latitude and longitude cross, so two numbers fix it exactly.
The Earth turns from west to east, so places further east see sunrise and noon earlier: their local time is ahead.

Equator	0° latitude, divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
Prime Meridian	0° longitude, through Greenwich near London
Main latitudes	Tropics 23.5° N and S, Arctic and Antarctic Circles 66.5° N and S, Poles 90°
Time and longitude	360° ÷ 24 hours = 15° an hour, so 1° = 4 minutes
Indian Standard Time	local time of 82.5° E (near Mirzapur), 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich
Directions	cardinal: N, S, E, W; intermediate: NE, NW, SE, SW

Mixing up latitudes and longitudes: latitudes run across like the Equator, longitudes run from pole to pole.
Making the time earlier when you move east: going east, local time is ahead.
Calling a sketch a map: a map is drawn to scale, a sketch is not.

If you stand facing south, which direction is on your left, and which is behind you?

Working: a right turn is a quarter turn clockwise; behind you is half a turn

Answer: left: east; behind you: north