Two friends in different parts of the world observe solar noon five hours apart.

Question

Two friends in different parts of the world observe solar noon five hours apart. Which pair of coordinates could represent the friends’ locations?: *

A) 40°N, 75°W and 51°N, 0° W
B) 36°N, 138°E and 18°N, 77°W
C) 41°N, 87°W and 51°N, 0°W
D) 40°N, 75°W and 18°N, 77°W

A passenger is traveling on a cruise ship during the month of June. She notices that, as the days go by, the angle of the sun above the horizon at noon steadily increases. The ship is most likely traveling from _____ toward _____.: *

A) The equator toward 300 North latitude
B) The equator toward 300 South latitude
C) 300 South toward 600 South latitude
D) 300 North toward 600 North latitude

Explanation / Answer

1. A) 40°N, 75°W and 51°N, 0° W

The earth has been divided into 360 degrees of imaginary longitudinal lines. Now, these 360 degrees divided by the 24 hour day, results in 4 minutes per longitude. Thus, if you move from one longitude to the next the differencewill be of 4 minutes. 360 degree = 24 hours, so 1 hr = 15 degrees, 1 degree = 4 minutes.

2. C) 300 South toward 600 South latitude

As you travel northward from Utah, you'll see the noon sun get lower and lower in the southern sky. Eventually you'll come to a latitude where the noon sun at the December solstice lies on your southern horizon; this latitude, 23.5° below the North Pole, is called the Arctic Circle. North of the Arctic Circle there will be days around the December solstice when the sun never rises.

And as you travel southward in the northern hemisphere, the noon sun gets higher and higher. The first qualitative change occurs at 23.5° latitude, where the noon sun on the June solstice passes directly overhead. This latitude is called the Tropic of Cancer. Farther south, in the so-called tropics, the noon sun will appear in the northern sky for a period of time around the June solstice. At the equator, the noon sun is straight overhead on the equinoxes. And after you pass 23.5° south latitude (the Tropic of Capricorn), the noon sun is always in the north. Much farther south is the Antarctic Circle, where the sun never quite rises on the June solstice and never quite sets on the December solstice.

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