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Summaries · Grade 6 Geography › Latitude, longitude and scale
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Latitude, longitude and scale

How to find a place with latitude and longitude, and how the three kinds of scale work. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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Latitude

Lines of latitude, also called parallels, run horizontally around the Earth. The equator is 0°. From the equator to a pole is 90°. South Africa lies at about 30° S: thirty degrees south of the equator.

Meerkat tip

The further from the equator, the colder it usually gets.

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Longitude and coordinates

Lines of longitude, also called meridians, run from pole to pole. The Greenwich (prime) meridian is 0°. Longitude is measured from 0° up to 180° east and 180° west; together these make the full 360° around the Earth, so there is no such thing as 200° E. Lines of longitude are linked to time zones.

Rule

Write a place’s position with latitude first: 34° S, 18° E means 34° south of the equator and 18° east of the prime meridian (near Cape Town).

Equator 0°Tropic of CancerTropic of CapricornArctic CircleAntarctic CirclePrime (Greenwich) meridian 0°South Pole
Latitude and longitude form a net around the Earth.
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Three kinds of scale

KindExample
Word scale1 cm represents 5 km
Line scale (bar scale)A bar in blocks, each block 10 km
Ratio scale1 : 100 000 (1 cm = 1 km)
0100200300400metres
A line scale: measure with the ruler and read off the distance.
  1. Measure the straight-line distance with a ruler.
  2. Multiply by the scale: 4 cm on a 1 cm : 5 km map is 4 × 5 = 20 km.
  3. At 1 : 200 000, 1 cm = 2 km; at 1 : 50 000, 4 cm = 2 km.
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Large scale or small scale?

  • A large-scale map shows a small area (your town) in great detail.
  • A small-scale map shows a big area (the world) with little detail, so it fits on one page.
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Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary
  • Lines of latitude (parallels) run horizontally; the equator is 0°. From the equator to a pole is 90°.
  • Lines of longitude (meridians) run pole to pole; the Greenwich meridian is 0°. They go up to 180° E and 180° W, together 360°.
  • Write the latitude first, then the longitude: 34° S, 18° E.
  • Three kinds of scale: word scale (1 cm represents 5 km), line scale (a bar), ratio scale (1 : 100 000).
  • 1 : 100 000 means 1 cm = 1 km. A large-scale map shows a small area in great detail.

Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Memory trick

Latitude before longitude, just as LA comes before LO in the alphabet.

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

First say what the word means, then turn the card over.

Test yourself · Part 2

True or false?

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    Follows CAPS for Grade 6 Social Sciences (Geography). Always check your teacher’s notes and textbook too.

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