Hinglish

Latitudes and Longitudes

Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 1: Locating Places on the Earth · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 1.2

Learn

In a cinema hall, Meher's ticket says Row F, Seat 12. With just two pieces of information, she finds her exact seat among hundreds. Geographers do the same for any place on the Earth using two numbers: latitude and longitude.

The Equator is an imaginary circle around the middle of the Earth, halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole. It is 0° latitude. Circles parallel to it, going north and south up to 90° at the poles, are the lines of latitude (parallels). Important ones are the Tropic of Cancer (23.5°N), the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5°S), and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles.

Lines of longitude (meridians) run from the North Pole to the South Pole. The Prime Meridian (0°) passes through Greenwich in London. Longitudes are counted up to 180° east and 180° west of it. A place is written like 30°N, 60°E: latitude first, then longitude.

India lies entirely in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, roughly between 8°N and 37°N and between 68°E and 97°E. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of India, through states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Explore: place the marker on the grid.

  1. Put the marker where the Equator meets the Prime Meridian.
  2. Put it at 30°N, 90°E (near the north-east of India).
  3. Now at 60°S, 120°W.

Remember

  • Latitudes are parallel circles measured north and south of the Equator (0° to 90°).
  • Longitudes run pole to pole and are measured east and west of the Prime Meridian (0° to 180°).

Quick check

What is the latitude of the Equator?

  1. 0°
  2. 90°
  3. 23.5°
  4. 180°
Answer

0°. The Equator is the starting line for latitudes.

Think about it

Two places have the same longitude but different latitudes. What can you say about where they are?

One answer

They lie on the same north–south line, one directly north of the other. (They also have the same local time.)

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.