Practice: The Global Grid

What the two numbers mean

• First number = latitude (north or south). N = toward the middle of the round map. S = toward the edge.
• Second number = longitude (east or west). E = toward Asia / Australia (right). W = toward America (left).

The middle of the circle is the North Pole. The rings are latitude. They go by 15°.

This assignment is teaching you to put numbers on the grid lines — then a point is just “where 30°S meets 90°E.” Use Next on the map above. I label the lines as we figure them out, and those labels stay.

1a — Put 4 dots on the map 2 points

Find each pair. Dot it. Number them 1–4.

How to number the lines, then find 30° S, 90° E (dot 1)

1. Start at the middle: that is 90°N.
2. Each ring out is 15° less north. Write 75°N, 60°N, 45°N, 30°N, 15°N on those rings.
3. The ring through the middle of Africa must be the equator, 0°. If your count hits Africa’s middle, the numbers are right. Label it 0°.
4. Keep going out: 15°S, then 30°S (the outer ring, through the bottom of Africa and Australia).
5. Label longitude around the edge the same way, starting at 0° through the UK / Africa, adding as you go east.
6. Dot 1 is simply where the line you labeled 30°S crosses the line you labeled 90°E (water west of Australia). Write 1.

Then the other three, same idea:

• 2. 45° N, 105° E — in toward the middle (north), right side (east) → land in Asia
• 3. 60° N, 105° W — even closer to the middle, left side (west) → North America
• 4. 25° S, 120° E — near the edge, on Australia

1b — Chart 2 points

• 30° S, 90° E → Indian Ocean
• 45° N, 105° E → Asia
• 60° N, 105° W → North America
• 25° S, 120° E → Australia

1c — Explain one 8 points

Write something like this (use the one you actually found):

I started at the middle of the map (North Pole). I found the equator — the circle through the middle of Africa. South means out toward the edge, so I counted two circles out (15° then 30°). That was 30°S. East means toward Australia, so I slid along that circle until I was in the water west of Australia. That is 30°S, 90°E, in the Indian Ocean.

A tiny + sketch in the margin is fine.

2a — Four cities 4 points

Find the city on the same map. Write close-enough numbers (do not google):

• Tokyo, Japan → about 35° N, 140° E
• Johannesburg, South Africa → about 25° S, 30° E
• Colombo, Sri Lanka → about 7° N, 80° E
• Berlin, Germany → about 50° N, 15° E

2b — Explain one city 8 points

I found Japan on the right side of the map. Tokyo is on those islands. It is north of the equator, so I used N — about 35°N. It is east, so I used E — about 140°E.

2c — One exact lookup 1 point

Now you may use the internet. Go to latlong.net, type Tokyo, Japan, copy the two numbers onto 2c.