Absolute Location
Cross-Curricular Focus: History/Social Sciences
Where on Earth are you? Navigators use lines of latitude and lines of longitude to locate
places. Lines of latitude run east and west around Earth. On a map or globe, these lines
appear as running sideways or horizontally. Lines of longitude run north and south around
Earth. These lines go up and down or vertically on a map or globe. These lines create an
imaginary graph paper on the Earth. They make it possible to fi nd an absolute, or exact,
location on Earth. They even allow us to give an absolute location to a place out in the
middle of the ocean. Lines of latitude tell us how far north or south of the Equator we are.
Sailors have used primitive navigation tools, like astrolabes, since ancient times.
The astrolabe uses the sun and stars to fi nd an approximate location. Using such
tools, they have been able to approximate their distance from the equator. Although
their instruments may not have been the high quality we have now, they were incredibly
accurate for their time. Lines of longitude tell us how far east or west of the prime
meridian we are. Sailors constantly looked for new ways to increase their navigation
skills. Still, it wasn’t until the 18th century they were able to measure degrees of
longitude. They would have been very envious of the technology available to us today.
When we use lines of latitude and longitude together, we can get a very precise location.
If we want to identify the absolute location of a point, we look where the latitude and
longitude lines cross nearest to that point. We use the coordinates for that point as
its address. Many maps today include degrees of latitude and longitude. Another
tool that helps us navigate is the magnetic compass. The magnetic compass was
developed in China. In medieval times, sailors brought it from China to Europe during
their regular trade expeditions to Asia. This technology made worldwide travel easier
and encouraged more exploration.
Answer the following questions based on the reading passage.
Don’t forget to go back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm your answers.
1) What is the function of lines of latitude and longitude?
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2) Which imaginary lines run north and south?
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3) Which imaginary lines are based on the Equator?
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4) Explain what is meant by an absolute location.
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5) In your opinion, which invention was more important:
the astrolabe or the magnetic compass? Why?
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