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CHAPTER 2
STUDY MATERIAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PARAGRAPH
NO
1.
2.
3.
4.

HEADING
THE EARTH (LO 01)
ANGULAR MEASUREMENT (LO 02)
DISTANCE MEASUREMENT (LO 03)
POSITION ON THE EARTH (LO 04)

PAGE
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2-1
2-3
2-4
2-4

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CHAPTER 2
STUDY MATERIAL
1.

THE EARTH (LO 01)

1.1.

The Earth is almost spherical in shape, being slightly flattened at the poles. Thus,
the Earths polar diameter is some 27 statute miles shorter than its average
equatorial diameter. This difference is very slight when compared with the
diameter of the Earth (nearly 8 000 statute miles) and consequently is generally
ignored in practical navigation in which the Earth is treated as a true sphere.

1.2.

Movement over the Earth. Since the position of any point on a sphere can be
fixed most conveniently by measuring its shortest distance from two axes on the
sphere, the first problem in position recording concerns the choice of these axes.
The Earths daily rotation governs this choice and in addition gives rise to the
cardinal directions east, west, north and south.

FIGURE 1: THE POLES

1.3.

The Poles. The extremities of the diameter about which the Earth rotates are
called poles. In Figure 1(a) these are represented by P and P1.

1.4.

East and West. East is defined as the direction in which the Earth is rotating. This
direction, anti-clockwise to an observer looking down on the pole P is shown by
the arrows in Figure 1(a) and (b). West is the direction opposite to east.

1.5.

North and South. The North Pole P, in Figure 1(a), is said to be the pole which lies
to the left of an observer facing east. North is therefore the direction in which an
observer would have to move to reach the North Pole, and is at right angles to the
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east-west direction. The other pole P1, in Figure 1(a), is known as the South Pole.
The directions east, west, south and north are known as the cardinal directions.
1.6.

Lines drawn on the Earth. The shortest distance between two points is the length
of the straight line joining them. It is, however, impossible to draw a straight line
on the spherical surface of the Earth. In other words, all lines drawn on the Earth
are curved, some regularly and others irregularly. The following are regularly
curved lines imagined to be drawn on the Earth.

1.7.

The Great Circle. It is a circle on the surface of a sphere whose centre and radius
are those of a sphere. Because its plane passes through the centre of the sphere,
the resulting section is the largest that can be obtained, hence the name great
circle. Only one great circle can be drawn through two places on the surface of a
sphere which are not diametrically opposed. The shortest distance between any
two points on the surface of a sphere is the smaller arc of the great circle joining
them Figure 2(a).

FIGURE 2: THE GREAT AND SMALL CIRCLES

1.8.

The Small Circle. It is the circle on the surface of a sphere whose centre and
radius are not those of the sphere Figure 2(b). All circle other than great circles on
the surface of a sphere are small circles.

1.9.

The Equator. The equator is the great circle whose plane is perpendicular to the
axis of rotation of the Earth. Every point on the equator is, therefore, equidistant
from both sides. The equator lies in an east-west direction and divides the Earth
into northern and southern hemispheres.

1.10.

The Meridians. The meridians are semi-great circles joining the poles, every great
circle joining the poles forms a meridian and its anti-meridian. All meridians
indicate north-south directions.

1.11.

Parallels of Latitude. These are small circles on the surface of the Earth whose
planes are parallel to the plane of the equator (see Figure 3). They therefore lie in
an east-west direction.
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FIGURE 3: EQUATOR, MERIDIANS AND PARALLELS

2.
2.1.

ANGULAR MEASUREMENT (LO 02)

The sexagesimal (proceeding in sixties) system of measuring angles and
distances is universally employed in navigation. In this system the angle
subtended at the centre of a circle by an arc equal to the 360 th part of the
circumference is called a degree. A right angle is divided into 90 degrees, each
degree is sub-divided into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds. The size
of the angle may be expressed in terms of degrees, minutes and seconds.

FIGURE 4: ANGULAR DISTANCE

2.2.

In spherical calculation it is frequently convenient to express spherical distances

(ie great circle distances) in terms of angular measurement rather than in linear
units. This is possible because of a simple relationship between the radius, arc
and the angle at the centre of a circle. Thus the length of the arc of a great circle
on the Earth may be expressed as 10 38. But this would convey little unless
there were some ready means of converting angular units to linear units. The
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difficulty has been overcome by the definition of the standard unit of linear
measurement on the Earth. This unit is called the nautical mile.
3.

DISTANCE MEASUREMENT (LO 03)

3.1.

Assuming the Earth to be a true sphere, a nautical mile is defined as the length of
an arc of a great circle which subtends an angle of one minute at the centre of the
Earth. Thus the number of nautical miles in the arc of any great circle equals the
number of minutes subtended by that arc at the centre of the Earth. Conversion of
angular measurement of spherical distance to linear measurement requires only
the reduction of the angle to minutes of arc; the number of minutes is equal to the
spherical distance in nautical miles.

3.2.

In Figure 4, if AB, the arc of a great circle, subtends an angle at the Earths centre
of 40 20 in length. 40 20 is equivalent to 2,420 minutes of arc which is equal to
a length of 2420 nautical miles.

3.3.

Because of the Earths uneven shape, the actual length of the nautical mile is not
a constant, but varies with latitude. For the purpose of navigation, however, a
fixed or standard unit of measurement is required and the length of the nautical
mile is taken to be 6,080 feet.

3.4.

The statute mile. The statute mile (so called because its length is determined by
law) is 5,280 feet in length. It is a purely arbitrary unit of measurement and, unlike
the nautical mile, is not readily convertible into terms of angular measurement.

4.
4.1.

POSITION ON THE EARTH

To find the position of any point on a plane, it is sufficient to know its shortest
distance from two lines or axis in that plane, preferably at right angles to each
other as seen in Figure 5(a). When a point lies on a sphere, the same method
holds in principle but the distances from the two axes are measured in angular
rather than linear units.

FIGURE 5: RELATION OF POSITION

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4.2.

Choice of axis. In the case of the Earth, the first requirement for the establishment
of position is the selection of a suitable pair of axes to which all measurements
may be related. As has been shown, the Earths rotation determines the location
of the poles and, consequently, the positions of the meridians and the equator. As
the meridians are semi-great circles running in a north-south direction, they are
suitable for use as one of the required axes. However, only one meridian is
required, the meridian through Greenwich has been arbitrarily selected and is
known as the PRIME MERIDIAN. The equator has been chosen as the other axis,
since it lies midway between the tow poles and its plane is at right angles to the
Earths axis and thus to the planes of all meridians.

4.3.

Latitude and longitude. The system of expressing position on the Earth which
employs these axes is that of latitude and longitude. In this system a graticule or
network of parallels of latitude and meridians is imagined to cover the Earth. The
position of any point, F, on the Earth may be thus expressed by reference to this
graticule as seen in Figure 5(b). The angular distance, y, of a point north or south
of the equator is its latitude co-ordinate; the angular distance, x, of the point east
or west of the prime meridian is its longitude co-ordinate.

4.4.

Latitude

4.4.1.

Latitude refers to angular distance along meridians. The latitude of any point is
the distance in arc along the meridian between the equator and the point; it is
expressed in degrees and minutes and is annotated N or S according to
whether the point lies to the north or south of the equator. It is equal to the
angle at the centre of the Earth between the radii drawn to the point and to the
intersection of its meridian with the equator.

FIGURE 6: LATITUDE
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4.4.2.

4.5.
4.5.1.

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NABS is the meridian passing through a point A and meeting the equator at B
(see Figure 6). The angular distance AB is called the latitude of point A; the
angle ACB thus measures the latitude of A.
Longitude
Longitude refers to the angular distance along the equator. The longitude of
any point is the shorter distance in arc along the equator between the prime
meridian and the meridian through the point; it is expressed in degrees and
minutes and is annotated E or W according to whether the point lies to the east
or west of the prime meridian. Because the plane of the Greenwich meridian
bisects the Earth, longitude cannot be greater than 180 east or west.

FIGURE 7: LONGITUDE
4.5.2.

In Figure 7(a) NZBS is the meridian through a point Z meeting the equator at B.
The meridian through Greenwich meets the equator at A. The angular distance
AB is thus the longitude of Z and in this case the longitude is east. The angle
AOB is also equal to the longitude of Z. Figure 7(b) is a plan view of the Earth
as seen from above the north pole, again the arc AB or the angle AOB is the
longitude of Z.

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CHAPTER 4
ASSESSMENT
1.
1.1.
1.1.1.

SELF-ASSESSMENT
Self-assessment Questionnaire
Define the great circle.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

1.1.2.

Define the small circle.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

1.1.3.

State the use of the meridians.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

1.1.4.

Explain the statute mile.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

1.1.5.

Differentiate between latitude and longitude.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

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1.2.
1.2.1.

Self-assessment Answer Sheet

Define the great circle.
a.

1.2.2.

All meridians indicate north-south directions.

Explain the statute mile.

a.

1.2.5.

It is the circle on the surface of a sphere whose centre and radius

are not those of the sphere. All circle other than great circles on
the surface of a sphere are small circles.

State the use of the meridians.

a.

1.2.4.

It is a circle on the surface of a sphere whose centre and radius

are those of a sphere.

Define the small circle.

a.

1.2.3.

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The statute mile (so called because its length is determined by

law) is 5,280 feet in length. It is a purely arbitrary unit of
measurement and, unlike the nautical mile, is not readily
convertible into terms of angular measurement.

Differentiate between latitude and longitude.

a.

Latitude refers to angular distance along meridians. The latitude

of any point is the distance in arc along the meridian between the
equator and the point; it is expressed in degrees and minutes and
is annotated N or S according to whether the point lies to the
north or south of the equator.

b.

Longitude refers to the angular distance along the equator. The

longitude of any point is the shorter distance in arc along the
equator between the prime meridian and the meridian through the
point; it is expressed in degrees and minutes and is annotated E
or W according to whether the point lies to the east or west of the
prime meridian.

1.3.

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