Name That Place
Summary: Janice and Randy are making seven stops on their way to the South Pole. Can you identify them based only on their latitude and longitude? Compare your results to the route mapped out in Follow Our Progress.

I. JUST THE FACTS
Crisscrossing lines called latitude and longitude lines form an imaginary grid that precisely defines every location on the globe. The markings of latitude lines are circles around the globe which run parallel to each other. They are often called parallels of latitude for this reason. Latitude comes from the Latin word meaning "width". On flat maps, parallels are straight lines that run the width of the page, thus their name of latitude.

Latitude is a measurement of how far north or south from the equator a position on a globe or map is. The equator is the natural north/south dividing point of the earth. Thus, latitude has a physical starting point, the equator which is 0°. The points farthest north and south of the equator are called the North Pole and South Pole. The latitude of the North Pole is 90° N and the latitude of the South Pole is 90° S.

Latitude is measured in degrees (or hours), minutes, and seconds. Just like time, there are 60 minutes in 1 degree (hour) of latitude and 60 seconds in 1 minute of latitude. Latitude measurements are written in the form degrees:minutes:seconds.

Longitude is an angular measurement of how far east or west one is of the Prime Meridian (i.e. zero degrees longitude). Unlike the equator, the zero of latitude, the Prime Meridian has no physical basis and its location was based on politics. It is a much harder problem to determine ones longitude than ones latitude. Latitude i can easily be obtained by measuring the angle of the sun at mid day. In fact the conquest of the longitude problem is the subject of a recent book: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel. Longitude is also divided into degrees, minutes, and seconds and extends from the Prime Meridian to 180° W and to 180° E. Note: look on a globe 180° W and 180° E are the same place!
II. DON'T GET HURT / WATCH OUT!
Be careful not to get disorientated or to send our intrepid travelers to a dangerous part of the world.

III. PURPOSE/PROBLEM/OBJECTIVE/QUESTIONS
Learn about geography, latitude, and longitude. Find our destinations or any place on the globe by using latitude and longitude.

IV. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
How much detail do you need to know where someone is -- degrees, minutes, seconds, or more?

V. STUFF

VI. JUST DO IT
Below is a list, in no particular order, of the latitude and longitude of the locations that Janice and Randy will visit.
Latitude Longitude
36:53:00S 174:45:00
41:51:00N 87:39:00W
34:03:08N 118:14:34W
43.48306S 172.53306E
90:00:00S 160:00:00W
31:34:08N 97:11:00W
77:53 S 166:40 E
  1. Find where each location is (city, country, & continent).
  2. Decide the order in which a traveler from the United States to the South Pole would visit them.
  3. Look up the latitude and longitude of your city/town/locale and then, using the latitude and longitude, find it on a map.
VII. SCORE BOARD Create a table like the one below and record your answers.

Latitude Longitude City / Town Name Country Stop Number
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

VIII. DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?
Compare the route you have mapped out to that described in Follow Our Progress

IX.REFERENCES
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel ISBN 0 14 02.5879 5
How Far Is It? web site

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