CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
A map or globe coordinate grid is especially useful for:
A. Locating places precisely
B. Predicting earthquakes exactly
C. Measuring rainfall directly
D. Determining rock age
Correct Answer: A
Latitude and longitude provide a global reference system for position.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
At about 60° latitude, the distance represented by 1° of longitude is roughly:
A. Double its value
B. Zero
C. Half its value at the Equator
D. The same as at the Equator
Correct Answer: C
Longitude spacing varies approximately with cos(latitude); cos 60° = 0.5.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
At the poles, the surface distance represented by 1° of longitude approaches:
A. 111 km
B. 60 km
C. Zero
D. 1,000 km
Correct Answer: C
All meridians meet at the poles, so east-west spacing between them becomes zero.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
The east-west distance represented by 1° of longitude is greatest at the:
A. Prime Meridian everywhere
B. Arctic Circle only
C. Equator
D. Poles
Correct Answer: C
Meridians are farthest apart at the Equator.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
One minute of latitude is approximately equal to:
A. One statute mile exactly
B. One nautical mile
C. Ten nautical miles
D. One kilometer
Correct Answer: B
A nautical mile is closely related to one minute of arc along a meridian.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
A rhumb-line route is generally:
A. Impossible to navigate
B. Always the shortest route
C. Identical to every great circle
D. Not the shortest route except in special cases
Correct Answer: D
Constant-bearing routes are convenient but usually longer than great-circle routes.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
A rhumb line is a path that crosses meridians at:
A. 90° only
B. A constant angle
C. Random angles
D. No angle
Correct Answer: B
A rhumb line, or loxodrome, maintains a constant compass bearing.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
The shortest route between two points on a spherical Earth generally follows a:
A. Rhumb line in every case
B. Parallel only
C. Great-circle arc
D. Small-circle arc
Correct Answer: C
Great-circle paths give the shortest surface distance on a sphere.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
All parallels other than the Equator are:
A. Straight lines on every map
B. Meridians
C. Great circles
D. Small circles
Correct Answer: D
Their planes do not pass through Earth's center, so they are small circles.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
Which parallel of latitude is a great circle?
A. Arctic Circle
B. Equator
C. 60° N
D. Tropic of Cancer
Correct Answer: B
The Equator's plane passes through Earth's center, so it is a great circle.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
Earth's rotation direction is generally described as:
A. North to south
B. South to north
C. West to east
D. East to west
Correct Answer: C
Earth rotates eastward, causing the Sun to appear to move westward across the sky.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
Which quantity determines the basic difference in local solar time between two places?
A. Difference in rainfall
B. Difference in latitude
C. Difference in elevation only
D. Difference in longitude
Correct Answer: D
Local time varies with longitude because Earth rotates from west to east.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
GMT is historically associated with time at:
A. Greenwich
B. The North Pole
C. The Equator
D. The International Date Line
Correct Answer: A
Greenwich Mean Time is historically based on mean solar time at Greenwich.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
UTC is best described as:
A. A climatic zone
B. A latitude line
C. A type of map projection
D. The modern global civil time standard
Correct Answer: D
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the international reference for civil timekeeping.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
In an idealized time-zone system, adjacent time zones are about:
A. 1° wide
B. 15° of longitude wide
C. 90° wide
D. 5° wide
Correct Answer: B
A one-hour time zone corresponds ideally to 15° of longitude.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
Standard time differs from local solar time mainly because standard time:
A. Is based on latitude
B. Changes every degree
C. Uses one selected meridian for a wider time zone
D. Ignores longitude completely
Correct Answer: C
Countries use standard meridians so clocks do not need to change continuously with longitude.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
If local time is earlier than Greenwich time, the place is generally located:
A. East of Greenwich
B. At the Equator only
C. West of Greenwich
D. On 180° longitude only
Correct Answer: C
Places west of Greenwich are behind Greenwich in local solar time.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
If local time is later than Greenwich time, the place is generally located:
A. On the Equator only
B. At a pole only
C. East of Greenwich
D. West of Greenwich
Correct Answer: C
Places east of Greenwich rotate into local noon earlier, so their local time is ahead.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
A difference of 1 minute of longitude corresponds to approximately:
A. 60 seconds
B. 15 seconds
C. 1 second
D. 4 seconds of time
Correct Answer: D
Since 1° = 4 minutes of time, 1' of longitude = 4 seconds of time.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Geography
Latitude and Longitude
A longitude difference of 45° corresponds to a time difference of:
A. 3 hours
B. 2 hours
C. 4 hours
D. 1 hour
Correct Answer: A
45° divided by 15° per hour equals 3 hours.