Relative and Absolute

Location
Where Are WE?
 How Do We Get There?
• There are two ways to answer this question….if
you would like to determine a place’s location
relative to someplace else, then you are looking
at its RELATIVE LOCATION.

• For Example: Kentucky is south of Ohio. OR

• Meet me at the Starbucks that is next to Izzy’s
on Mall Road.
 Relative Location
• We are going to focus on Relative
Location for a moment. I would like for
you to be able to refer to places on a
map in terms of where they are located
relative to other places….. And I want
you to use your cardinal and
intermediate directions correctly.
 Let’s Review
• Cardinal Directions • Intermediate
• NORTH Directions
• South • Northeast
• East • Southeast
• West • Northwest
• Southwest
 Your Task
• Open you textbook to pages R46-R47.
• Use the map on those pages and answer the
following five questions:
– 1. China is ________________of Thailand.
– 2. Libya is _________________ of Egypt.
– 3. Peru is _______________ of Brazil.
– 4. Spain is _________________ of France.
– 5. Yemen is ______________ of Saudi Arabia.
 Your Task
• Using the maps in the back of our textbook write
three statements using Cardinal directions and
three statements using intermediate directions.
• Make sure you write the page number of the map
you are using next to each sentence.
• Example:
• Map Page R49……Honduras is southwest of Cuba.
 Absolute Location
• Where a place is SPECIFICALLY located.
• This is done in one of two ways.

1. A person given you an exact address.

For example: 2304 Oakview Court Hebron,
KY 41048

2. Using imaginary lines of Latitude and Longitude

For example: 65°N / 32°W
Understanding Latitude and
Longitude

Let’s SEE what we can

LEARN!
 System of Imaginary Lines
• Now let’s look at the grid system that has
been created to help us locate any point on a
map.

• To do this we used lines of Latitude and lines

of Longitude.
 Latitude and Longitude
• The earth is divided into lots of lines called
latitude and longitude.
North, South, East and West on The
Earth
Y
• Let the X axis be the Equator.
• Let the Y axis be the Prime
X Meridian
that runs through Greenwich
outside
of London.
• Latitude and Longitude are the 2
grid points by
which you can locate any point
on earth.
East West, North South on the Earth
(N, W) • That means all points
in North
America will have a
North latitude and a
West longitude
because it is North of
the Equator and West
Prime Meridian
of the Prime
Meridian.
East West, North South on the Earth

• What would be the

latitude and
longitude
directions in
Prime Meridian ? Australia?
 Lines of Latitude
• Lines that run east and west but measure
distance north and south of the equator.
• Latitudes lines are always written first
when given the coordinates of a place.
• They will always be either North or
South.
 Where is 0 degree Latitude?
• The equator is 0 degree latitude.
• It is an imaginary belt that runs halfway
point between the North Pole and the
South Pole.

Equator
 What is Latitude?
• Latitude is the distance
90°N from the
Y
equator along the Y axis.
• All points along the
X equator have a value of
0 degrees latitude.
• North pole = 90°N
90°S • South pole = 90°S
• Values are expressed in
terms of degrees.
 Lines of Longitude
• Lines that run north and south
around the earth, but measure
distance east and west of the Prime
Meridian.
• They will always be either east or
west
 P M
Where is 0 degree R E
R
Longitude? I I
M D
I
• The prime meridian is 0 E A
N
degrees longitude. This
imaginary line runs
through the United
Kingdom, France, Spain,
western Africa, and
Antarctica.
 What is Longitude?
• Longitude is the distance
Y from the prime meridian
along the X axis.
• All points along the
X prime meridian have a
value of 0 degrees
longitude.
• The earth is divided into
two parts, or
180°W 180°E hemispheres, of east and
west longitude.
 What is Longitude?
• The earth is
Y divided into 360
equal slices
X
(meridians)
• 180 west and 180
east of the prime
meridian
180°W 180°E
So Where is (0,0)?
• The origin point
(0,0) is where the
equator
intersects the
prime meridian.
• (0,0) is off the
western coast of
Africa in the
Atlantic Ocean.
 East West, North South on the Earth
N
• Let each of the
four quarters
W E
then be
designated by
S North or South
and East or
West.
East West, North South on the Earth
(N, W) (N, E)
• The N tells us we’re
north of the Equator.
The S tells us we’re
south of the Equator.
• The E tells us that we’re
east of the Prime
(S, W) (S, E)
Meridian. The W tells us
that we’re west of the
Prime Meridian.
 See If You Can Tell In Which Quarter
These Latitude and Longitude Are
Located

• 1. 41°N, 21°E
• 2. 37°N, 76°W
A B • 3. 72°S, 141°W
C D • 4. 7°S, 23°W
• 5. 15°N, 29°E
• 6. 34°S, 151°E
• 1. B
• 2. A
• 3. C
• 4. C
• 5. B
• 6. D