Chapter 1 Section 2 Pg. 9

1. Chapter 1 Section 2 Pg. 9 Skill Building: Using the Geographer’s Tools

2. Organizing the Globe • Globe – scale model of earth • Useful for looking at the whole planet or large areas of its land and water surfaces. • The pattern of lines makes a grid. • Latitude – drawn in an east-west direction. • Longitude – north south direction.

3. Continued • Latitude measure the distance north and south of the equator. Lines of latitude are also called parallels. • Lines of longitude are called meridians. Measure east and west of the prime meridian. • Both measured in degrees, degrees are further divided into minutes. 60 minutes in a degree.

4. Hemispheres, Continents, Oceans • The equator divided the earth into hemispheres. • Prime Meridian and 180 meridian divide the world into Eastern and Western Hemispheres. • Also organized into 7 continents. Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. • Asia is the larges and Australia is the smallest. • Greenland is the world’s largest island.

5. Making Maps • Maps are flat representations of all or part of Earth’s surface. • A collection of maps in one book is called an atlas. • Different ways of representing the round earth on a flat map. These are called map projections. True sized of continents and bodies of water are not shown on all maps.

6. Map Projections • Cylindrical projections – are designed like a cylinder has been wrapped around the globe. A mercator map is an example of this. Helps navigators because it shows true direction and shape. Landmasses at high latitudes are exaggerated in size. • Conic Projections – are designed as if a cone has been placed over the globe. Accurate where the lines of latitude where it touches the globe. • Flat-plane globes – touch the globe at one point. Shows true direction for planes and ships.

7. Great Circle Route • Drawing a straight line on a flat map will not show the shortest route between two places. • Shortest route between two places on the planet is called a great circle route.

8. Understanding Map Elements • Scale – the size of an area and the level of detail that is shown. Maps show large or small areas.

9. Distance Scales • Shows the real distance between two places on a map.

10. Directional Indicators • Shows which direction on a map is north south east or west. • Called a compass rose.

11. Legends • Identifies the symbols on a map and what they represent.

12. Climate graphs and population pyramids • Climate graphs show the average temperatures and precipitation in one graph. • Along the left side of the climate graph is a range of temperatures. Right side is an average amount of precipitation. • A population pyramid – shows the average amount of males and females by age group in a country’s population.