[ SRTB ] 023. Understanding Hemispheres.

Earth is a big planet. But we can make it smaller by dividing it into sections. We call these sections hemispheres. One hemisphere is half of the Earth. 

There is an imaginary line that runs from east to west all around the Earth. It is in the center of the Earth. We call it the equator. The equator divides the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere. The Northern Hemisphere includes Asia and Europe. North America is also in it. Below the equator is the Southern Hemisphere. Australia and Antarctica are in it. So are most of South America and Africa. 

We can also divide Earth into the Eastern and Western hemispheres. The line that does this is the prime meridian. It runs from north to south. It goes directly through Greenwich, England. The Eastern Hemisphere includes Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Western Hemisphere includes North and South America. 

 

1. What goes through Greenwich, England?

- The prime meridian. 

 

2. What is NOT true?

a. The equator runs from east to west. ( T )

b. Australia is in the Northern Hemisphere. ( F )

c. Earth has the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere. ( T )

 

3. a. hemisphere : an imaginary line the lies halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole.

    b. imaginary : not real; made up.

    c. equator : one half of the Earth.