Geographical coordinates
Also called: Coordinates · Topic: Latitude, Longitude and Time · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Latitude, Longitude and Time"
Meaning
Geographical coordinates are a place's latitude and longitude written together. Latitude tells how far north or south of the equator a place is. Longitude tells how far east or west of the Prime Meridian it is. Both are angles. They are measured in degrees (°), minutes (1° = 60′) and seconds (1′ = 60″). With coordinates you can fix any place exactly and work out the distance and direction between two places.
Example
Delhi lies near 28°37′N, 77°E. Class 6 rounds this to about 29°N, 77°E. Class 6 compares coordinates to finding a shop as the "7th shop, 5th row" in a market.
Don't confuse with
- Geographical grid: the grid is the whole network of lines. Coordinates are the two values that fix one point on it.