Topic Review — Earth Geometry and Time Zones

← Earth Geometry and Time Zones

This review covers latitude and longitude, great circles and small circles, distances on Earth’s surface, and time zones.

Review Questions

1. State the latitude and longitude of a point that is 25° south of the equator and 140° east of the prime meridian.
2. Which is further from the equator: 48°N or 37°S? By how many degrees?
3. Classify each as a great circle or small circle: (a) equator   (b) 30°N parallel   (c) 0° meridian   (d) Antarctic Circle (66.5°S)
4. Two cities lie on the same meridian at (15°N, 45°E) and (45°N, 45°E). Find the great circle distance between them.
5. Two cities are on the equator at 20°W and 100°E. Find the distance between them along the equator.
6. A city is at 40°N latitude. What is the radius of its parallel of latitude? What is the circumference of this small circle?
7. Two cities are both at 50°N, with longitudes 10°E and 70°E. Find the distance between them along their parallel of latitude.
8. How many hours correspond to a longitude difference of 60°? Of 22.5°?
9. When it is 7:00 pm Tuesday in Tokyo (UTC+9), what is the time and day in London (UTC+0)?
10. Sydney is UTC+10 and San Francisco is UTC−8. When it is 9:00 am Wednesday in Sydney, what is the time and day in San Francisco?
11. A flight departs Brisbane (UTC+10) at 6:30 am Monday and arrives in Dubai (UTC+4) after 14 hours. What is the local time and day in Dubai on arrival?
12. A ship travels along latitude 35°S from 150°E to 70°E (going west). Find the distance travelled.
13. Explain the difference between a great circle route and a parallel route between two cities at the same latitude. Which is shorter and why?
14. The antipodal point of Sydney (34°S, 151°E) is what coordinate?
15. A city at 120°E belongs to what UTC time zone (theoretical)? How does the actual time zone of most of Australia differ from this theoretical value?