Map And Atlas Skills

Question 1

Every good map should have the following features;

Answer 1

1. An arrow to show which direction is North.
2. A title.
3. A scale.
4. A key to tell us what the symbols mean.
5. A grid to help us find places.

Question 2

Latitude and Longitude

Answer 2

World maps use lines of latitude and longitude to help us pin point locations

Question 3

Lines of Latitude

Answer 3

horizontal lines which tell us how far North or South we
are from the equator

Question 4

The equator is the most famous line of latitude and is said to be ‘zero degrees’.

Answer 4

The Tropic of Cancer lies to the North of the Equator.
The Tropic of Capricorn lies to the South of the Equator

Question 5

Lines of longitude

Answer 5

vertical lines which tell us how far East or West we are
from the Greenwich Meridian

Question 6

The Greenwich Meridian is the most famous line of longitude

Answer 6

It runs from the
North Pole to the South Pole and passes through the town of Greenwich near
London. It is also ‘zero degrees’.

Question 7

Ordnance survey map symbols

Answer 7

The most common maps we use in Geography exams are Ordnance survey
maps with a scale of 1: 50 000

Question 8

Contour Lines

Answer 8

These are thin orange lines on maps which tell us about the height and shape
of the land. (Relief

Question 9

Scale

Answer 9

This tells us how much smaller the map is than real life. Scale can be expressed
in 3 different ways
1. A scale bar (a line below the map to show real life distances).
2. A ratio eg 1 : 50 000
(this tells us that the map is 50 000 times smaller than real life
So 1 cm on the map represents 50 000cm in real life.
3. A statement. Eg 1cm on the map=1km in real life

Question 10

Grid References

Answer 10

Every Ordnance Survey map has a grid to help us find places.
We can then give a FOUR FIGURE grid reference to identify a grid square with
the following steps.