What does latitude mean?
Word: Latitude
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Latitude means the distance of a place north or south of the equator, measured in degrees.
How do you spell latitude?
Syllables: lat - i - tude
Tricky part: Only one t comes before the i. Students mix the word up with attitude, which has a double t, and write lattitude.
Watch out for: lattitude, lattittude
Memory tip: Lines of latitude lie flat across the globe. The word flat has a single t after its a, and so does the start of latitude.
Latitude in a sentence
Example 1: Our geography teacher showed us how to find the latitude of Bhopal in the atlas.
Example 2: Places at a high latitude have long summer days and long winter nights.
Example 3: The Tropic of Cancer is a line of latitude that passes through eight Indian states.
Fun Fact
Sailors once worked out their latitude from the Pole Star: in the Northern Hemisphere, its angle above the horizon in degrees is roughly equal to the latitude.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. latitude 2. longitude 3. altitude a. distance north or south of the equator b. height above sea level c. distance east or west of the Prime Meridian
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
Show answer
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b. Latitude is measured from the equator, longitude from the Prime Meridian, and altitude from sea level.
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
lat_tude
a) i
b) u
c) a
d) e
Show answer
a) i. The vowel between the two t's is i; latatude and latetude are not words.
Word Champ
Read the three statements and choose the correct option:
1. Lines of latitude run from east to west round the globe. 2. Lines of latitude are also called meridians. 3. All lines of latitude are the same length.
a) only 2 and 3 are true
b) all three are true
c) only 1 and 2 are true
d) only 1 is true
Show answer
d) only 1 is true. Lines of latitude are called parallels, not meridians, and they get shorter towards the poles.
Word Tally
You get 3 marks for each correctly spelt word in the list. How many marks do you get?
latitude, compas, horizon, tropicle, hemisphere
a) 6
b) 3
c) 9
d) 12
Show answer
c) 9. Compass needs a double s and tropical ends in -al, so three words are right: 3 x 3 = 9.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is the latitude of the equator?
a) 45 degrees
b) 90 degrees
c) 0 degrees
d) 180 degrees
Show answer
c) 0 degrees
2. As you travel north from Kanyakumari to Delhi, your latitude ___.
a) increases
b) becomes zero
c) stays the same
d) decreases
Show answer
a) increases
