Arya Vidya Mandir Group of Schools
Std: 5 Chapter 1 Locating Places on the Earth
Name: ________________________________ Div: ________ Roll no: _________
Centuries ago, people believed that the Earth was flat, and that they would fall of its
surface if they went too close to the edges.
Explorers like Magellan and satellite images of the earth taken from the Earth’s orbit
have proved that the Earth is like a sphere.
What is a Globe?
It is very easy to understand the shape of the earth with the help of a globe. A globe
is a small model of the Earth which gives us a fairly accurate idea of the earth's
surface. A globe shows us the shape and the location of the continents, oceans and
seas on smallest scale. It also shows the shape and location of different countries.
We can see only half of the globe at one time. To see the other half we have to turn
it around or rotate it. It can be turned around a rod passing through it which
represents the Earth's axis. The axis is an imaginary line which has two end points-
the North Pole and the South Pole. Thus, the real Earth rotates around an imaginary
axis.
The equator is an imaginary line drawn around the centre of the earth. It divides
Earth horizontally into two equal halves. The upper house is called the Northern
Hemisphere, while the lower half is called the Southern Hemisphere.
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Latitudes
Latitudes are imaginary lines that are drawn horizontally on the earth. They run
parallel to the equator from east west and are also called Parallels. Latitudes are
measured in angles. They are numbers in degrees.
Latitudes to the north of the equator are given names from one degree North to 90
degree North. There are 90 lines of latitudes to the north of the equator.
Similarly lines of latitude to the south of the equator are given names from 1 degree
South to 90 degrees South. There are 90 lines of latitudes to the south of the
equator. Including the equator at 0 degree there are 181 lines of latitudes.
Important latitudes
Some important latitudes are:
Important Lines of Latitudes Degrees
North Pole 90 degree North
Arctic circle 66.5 degree North
Tropic of Cancer 23.5 degree North
Equator 0 degree
Tropic of Capricorn 23.5 degree South
Antarctic circle 66.5 degree South
South Pole 90 degree South
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Features of the Lines of Latitudes:
• They never meet each other.
• They are circular lines running from east to west.
• They reduce in length as we move away from the equator towards the poles.
• The equator is the longest line of latitude.
Longitudes
The imaginary lines that run from North Pole to South Pole are called longitudes.
They are not parallel like the lines of latitude. Longitudes are also called Meridians.
There are 360 lines of longitudes. The central or the 0 degree longitude is called the
Prime Meridian. It divides Earth into two equal halves - the eastern hemisphere and
the western hemisphere. Lines of longitudes to the west of the Prime Meridian are
given names from 1 degree West to 180 degree West. Lines of longitudes to the east
of the Prime Meridian are given names from 1 degree East to 180 degree East. 180
degree west and 180 degree east is this same line. The Meridian passing through
Greenwich in London in UK is taken as 0 degree.
Features of the Lines of Longitudes:
• They are semi circular lines running from North Pole to South Pole.
• The maximum distance between two consecutive longitudes is at the equator
and the distance decreases as we move towards the poles.
• They are equal in length.
Earth's grid
The latitudes and longitudes intersect each other at right angles and form a network.
This network is called a grid. The earth's grid helps us to find places on a map.
Keywords:
• Latitude: Imaginary lines parallel to the equator which divide the earth
horizontally into two equal hemispheres.
• Longitude: Imaginary lines running from North Pole to South Pole which
divide the earth vertically into two equal hemispheres.
• Axis: An imaginary line passing through the centre of the Earth on which the
Earth rotates.
• Earth's grid: The intersection of latitudes and longitudes at right angles.
