Location Tools

Lines of latitude measure the distance north or south of the equator. Latitude is measured in degrees, which doesn't mean temperature, but rather distance.

The equator is the imaginary line of latitude that runs horizontally and divides the northern and southern hemispheres.

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The red line shows the equator.

Thesevenseas [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The latitude of the equator is 0° You can either go up (north) 90° or down (south) 90° to measure the distance of a place on Earth.

Lines of longitude measure the distance east and west of the prime meridian. It is also measured in degrees.

The prime meridian is the imaginary line of longitude that runs vertically down the middle of the globe, dividing the eastern and western hemispheres.

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The longitude of the prime meridian is 0°. You can measure east up to 180° or west up to 180°.

Time Zones

Time zones are the times in different parts of the world based on their relation to the sun. When the Earth rotates, its light shines on different parts of the world. The part that faces the sun experiences daytime. The part of the world facing away from the sun experiences nighttime.

Time zones are set up along longitudinal lines, and these are broken into 24 zones. Each zone increases by about an hour. (Some are 30 minutes to 45 minutes, but most are one hour)

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This means that if it is Wednesday 2:00 PM in California, it is Thursday 6:00 AM in Tokyo, Japan! It's the next day, but at the same time! California is 16 hours behind Japan. It is important to know the different time zones if you are traveling far away or if you want to talk to someone in a different country. You need to make sure it isn't too early or too late since you most likely live in a different time zone.