Latitude: Simple Notes
What is it? Latitude is like measuring how far north or south a place is on Earth. Imagine drawing lines around the Earth going east to west – latitude tells you which line you're on.
How we measure it: We use degrees (°) to measure latitude. Think of the Earth as a circle and we're measuring angles from the center of the Earth.
Starting Point: The Equator is the starting line for latitude. It's at 0° latitude. The Equator is in the middle, between the North and South Poles.
Parallels of Latitude: These are the east-west lines of latitude.
They are parallel to the Equator (meaning they never meet).
They are circles on the Earth (or a globe).
They get smaller as you go towards the North and South Poles.
North and South Poles:
North Pole is at 90° North (90°N).
South Pole is at 90° South (90°S).
In between: Lines of latitude are drawn every 1° between the Equator and the Poles.
For super precise locations:
Each degree (°) is divided into 60 minutes (').
Each minute (') is divided into 60 seconds ("). (Like telling time, but for location!)
Important Latitude Lines (Special Lines):
Equator (0°): The middle line.
Tropic of Cancer (23½°N): North of the Equator.
Tropic of Capricorn (23½°S): South of the Equator.
Arctic Circle (66½°N): Far north.
Antarctic Circle (66½°S): Far south.
Distance of a Degree of Latitude:
Earth is a little flat at the poles, not a perfect sphere.
So, the actual distance on the ground for 1° of latitude is slightly different depending on where you are.
At the Equator (0°): 1 degree of latitude is about 68.704 miles.
At 45° latitude: 1 degree is about 69.054 miles.
At the Poles (90°): 1 degree is about 69.407 miles.
Average: We usually use 69 miles as an average for 1 degree of latitude to make things easy.
Calculating Distance from the Equator:
You can use the average of 69 miles per degree.
Example: Bombay (Mumbai) is at 18°55'N latitude.
So, roughly 18.55 degrees from the Equator (18°55' is about 18.55 degrees).
Distance from Equator ≈ 18.55 x 69 miles ≈ 1280 miles.
Your Task (Using an Atlas):
Use an atlas (a book of maps).
Find the latitude of these places:
Singapore
Calcutta (Kolkata)
Paris
New York
Auckland
Buenos Aires
For each city, note down its latitude (like "Singapore is at X° N/S").
Multiply that latitude degree (approximately) by 69 miles to get the approximate distance from the Equator.
In simple words: Latitude is like measuring how far north or south you are on Earth using lines that go around the Earth like belts, starting from the Equator. You can even use it to roughly calculate distances!