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Class 6 Locating Places on the Earth: cheat sheet
CBSE Social Science. 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.
Remember
| 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 |
Watch out
- 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.
Worked example
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
Practise Locating Places on the Earth
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