Name: DARRELL EVANS
Basic Coordinates & Seasons – Student Guide
There are three main sections to this module: terrestrial coordinates, celestial equatorial
coordinates, and understanding how the ecliptic is related to seasons on the Earth. Each of
these sections has its own simulator(s). The background material necessary to utilize these tools
is contained in each section.
Terrestrial Coordinates
Work through the explanatory material on units of longitude and latitude, finding longitude
and latitude, and a bit of history (optional).
● Open the flat map explorer.
● Familiarize yourself with the cursor and how it prints out the longitude and latitude of the
active map location.
● Note that you can vary the central meridian of the map (i.e. change its longitude). Use
the “shift map” arrows at the top of the simulator to affect large rapid changes. Use the
shiftclick feature of the cursor for finer control.
● Note what information is accessible through the show cities and show map features
check boxes.
● Center the cursor on your present location. Click the open Google Maps button to
launch the Google Map tool focused on this location. Experiment until you get a good
feeling for the Google Map’s capabilities and then close this window. (Note that you
must be connected to the Internet to make use of this feature.)
Question 1: Use the flat map explorer to complete the following table. You are encouraged to
try and predict the answers and then use the map’s cursor and other features to check the
accuracy of your estimates.
Location Longitude Latitude
The center of the island of Madagascar. 47.73º E 19.00º S
Hawaii (area between Honolulu and
, London, England (North and slightly East Prime Meridian 51.8º N
of the city)
Havana, Cuba (just North of the city) 82.1º W Tropic of Cancer
Sao Paulo, Brazil 46.63º W 23.57º S
Chukchi Sea, Russia (North of Diomede International Date Line Arctic Circle
and NorthEast of Uelen)
New Orleans, Louisiana 90º W Meridian 30º N Parallel
Question 2: Determine which of the 50 states defines the farthest extent of the United States in
NAAP – Basic Coordinates & Motions 1/8
each of the 4 map directions.
Direction State
North Alaska
South Hawaii
East (there are two ways Maine
of thinking about this)
West Alaska
Question 3: The exact coordinates of the white house in Washington D.C., are 77.0365º W and
38.897º N. What are these exact coordinates in sexagesimal notation? Show your calculation in
the box below. (You can use the Google Map tool to check your answer.)
77.0365 = 77 degrees with 0.0365 remainder
0.0365 remainder x 60 = 2 minutes with 0.19 remainder
Basic Coordinates & Seasons – Student Guide
There are three main sections to this module: terrestrial coordinates, celestial equatorial
coordinates, and understanding how the ecliptic is related to seasons on the Earth. Each of
these sections has its own simulator(s). The background material necessary to utilize these tools
is contained in each section.
Terrestrial Coordinates
Work through the explanatory material on units of longitude and latitude, finding longitude
and latitude, and a bit of history (optional).
● Open the flat map explorer.
● Familiarize yourself with the cursor and how it prints out the longitude and latitude of the
active map location.
● Note that you can vary the central meridian of the map (i.e. change its longitude). Use
the “shift map” arrows at the top of the simulator to affect large rapid changes. Use the
shiftclick feature of the cursor for finer control.
● Note what information is accessible through the show cities and show map features
check boxes.
● Center the cursor on your present location. Click the open Google Maps button to
launch the Google Map tool focused on this location. Experiment until you get a good
feeling for the Google Map’s capabilities and then close this window. (Note that you
must be connected to the Internet to make use of this feature.)
Question 1: Use the flat map explorer to complete the following table. You are encouraged to
try and predict the answers and then use the map’s cursor and other features to check the
accuracy of your estimates.
Location Longitude Latitude
The center of the island of Madagascar. 47.73º E 19.00º S
Hawaii (area between Honolulu and
, London, England (North and slightly East Prime Meridian 51.8º N
of the city)
Havana, Cuba (just North of the city) 82.1º W Tropic of Cancer
Sao Paulo, Brazil 46.63º W 23.57º S
Chukchi Sea, Russia (North of Diomede International Date Line Arctic Circle
and NorthEast of Uelen)
New Orleans, Louisiana 90º W Meridian 30º N Parallel
Question 2: Determine which of the 50 states defines the farthest extent of the United States in
NAAP – Basic Coordinates & Motions 1/8
each of the 4 map directions.
Direction State
North Alaska
South Hawaii
East (there are two ways Maine
of thinking about this)
West Alaska
Question 3: The exact coordinates of the white house in Washington D.C., are 77.0365º W and
38.897º N. What are these exact coordinates in sexagesimal notation? Show your calculation in
the box below. (You can use the Google Map tool to check your answer.)
77.0365 = 77 degrees with 0.0365 remainder
0.0365 remainder x 60 = 2 minutes with 0.19 remainder
