How it works
This latitude and longitude worksheet has 58 questions: the equator, prime meridian and tropics, degrees and minutes, which hemispheres a point is in, and real cities found from their coordinates.
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Five sets
The grid covers parallels, meridians and the named lines. Degrees, minutes and time converts 40°30′ to 40.5° and longitude to sun time. The last three sets use real cities, rounded to whole degrees.
Print or practise
Practice brings a missed question back until you get it right. The sheet on screen is what prints: remove a question, add more up to all 58, and tick With answer key.
- Latitude first, then longitude: 30°N, 31°E. N or S goes with latitude, E or W with longitude.
- Latitude stops at 90°; longitude goes to 180°. A number above 90 must be a longitude.
- Each 15° of longitude is one hour of sun time, because the Earth turns 360° in 24 hours.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between latitude and longitude?
Latitude measures north or south of the equator, from 0° to 90°. Longitude measures east or west from the prime meridian, 0° to 180°. Lines of latitude are parallels; lines of longitude are meridians.
How do you remember latitude and longitude?
Latitude lines lie flat like the rungs of a ladder (lat, ladder). Longitude lines are long: every one runs the full length from pole to pole.
How do you convert minutes to a decimal degree?
Divide the minutes by 60 and add the result to the degrees. 40°30′ is 40 + 30 ÷ 60 = 40.5°. To go back, multiply the decimal part by 60.