The Earth: Long and Lat
Clip: Special | 1m 4sVideo has Closed Captions
Do you know your latitude and longitude?
The Earth is divided by imaginary lines: latitudes and longitudes. They were created to help us accurately locate where we are on the planet and where we want to go.
Science Trek is a local public television program presented by IdahoPTV
Major Funding by the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation and the Idaho National Laboratory. Additional Funding by the Friends of Idaho Public Television and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The Earth: Long and Lat
Clip: Special | 1m 4sVideo has Closed Captions
The Earth is divided by imaginary lines: latitudes and longitudes. They were created to help us accurately locate where we are on the planet and where we want to go.
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Science Trek
Science Trek is a place where parents, kids, and educators can watch short, educational videos on a variety of science topics. Every Monday Science Trek releases a new video that introduces children to math, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) career potentials in a fun, informative way.[MUSIC] JOAN CARTAN-HANSEN, HOST: How do you find where you are on the Earth?
You use imaginary lines, science and math.
Latitudes are imaginary lines that start at the equator and are measured in degrees north or south to the poles.
Zero degrees is at the equator and 90 degrees is at each pole.
Each latitude is divided into 60 minutes and then 60 seconds.
A second of latitude covers about 30.7 meters and the distance between latitude lines remains the same across the globe.
But knowing latitude only helps you so much when you are trying to find your way.
You also need to know longitude.
Longitude are imaginary lines that run north to south around the globe.
Like latitudes, longitudes are measured in degrees, but longitudinal lines get closer together the nearer you get to the poles.
The Prime Meridian which runs through Greenwich, England has the longitude degree of zero.
Today, we have G-P-S satellites that help us know where we are on Earth, but measurements are still made in longitude and latitude.
For more information about the Earth, check out the Science Trek website.
You'll find it at ScienceTrek.org
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Science Trek is a local public television program presented by IdahoPTV
Major Funding by the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation and the Idaho National Laboratory. Additional Funding by the Friends of Idaho Public Television and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.