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Map Room at Asterfield worksheet preview

Worksheet

Map Room at Asterfield

Read an informational passage about a farm town map room, then use latitude, longitude and map projections to locate places.

Grade 5Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toGEO.5.1

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 C3 Framework standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 15 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 5
Subject
Social Studies
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students use latitude and longitude to identify hemispheres and locate places.
  • Students compare globes with Mercator, Robinson and conic map projections.
  • Students explain how a map projection affects the way places appear.

How to use

Read the passage together and have students refer to the coordinate cards and projection descriptions as they answer. Ask students to support written answers with details from the text.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

GEO.5.1

Use latitude, longitude and different map projections to locate places in the United States and the world.

Preview

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Name Date

Map Room at Asterfield

Use coordinates and projections to read places near and far.

Read about the map room

Read the passage. Then answer the questions using details from the passage.

A Map Room in Asterfield

Asterfield is a small farm town surrounded by fields and low hills. The town hall was preparing a traveling exhibit about how maps help people understand places. The map team wanted visitors to compare a globe with several flat maps. A globe shows Earth on a round surface. A flat map is made by using a map projection, or a method for showing the curved Earth on a flat surface.

The team taught visitors to read coordinates. Latitude lines run east to west, but they tell how far north or south a place is from the equator. The equator is 0° latitude. Longitude lines run from the North Pole to the South Pole, but they tell how far east or west a place is from the Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian is 0° longitude. A coordinate pair lists latitude first and longitude second. The letters N and S show north or south, while E and W show east or west.

The exhibit included five location cards. The card for Asterfield read 39.1° N, 98.2° W. Anchorage, Alaska, was listed as 61.2° N, 149.9° W. Quito, Ecuador, was listed as 0.2° S, 78.5° W. Nairobi, Kenya, was listed as 1.3° S, 36.8° E. Tokyo, Japan, was listed as 35.7° N, 139.7° E. A place's coordinate pair works like an address: it narrows a location to the crossing of one latitude and one longitude.

The team also compared projections. A Mercator projection can make directions and local shapes easier to read, but places near the poles appear much larger than they are compared with places near the equator. A Robinson projection balances several kinds of distortion, so it is often used for a broad view of the world. A conic projection can be useful for a large east-west region in the middle latitudes, such as the continental United States.

The map team reminded visitors that no flat projection shows every distance, shape, direction and area perfectly at the same time. A globe avoids flattening Earth, although small details can be harder to see. A mapmaker chooses a representation according to the question being asked. The town's display used the globe for checking the general arrangement of continents and the flat maps for comparing different ways to show locations.

1.
Why did the map team include both a globe and flat maps in the exhibit?
  • A. To show that flat maps work better than globes
  • B. To give each location a different name
  • C. To compare the strengths and limits of each representation
  • D. To make the places on the cards look the same size
2.
Word bank: latitude · longitude · equator

In a coordinate pair, mapmakers write   first.

3.
Match each term to its meaning in the passage.
  1. Latitude
  2. Longitude
  3. Equator
  4. Prime Meridian
  1. A. 0° longitude
  2. B. Distance north or south of the equator
  3. C. 0° latitude
  4. D. Distance east or west of the Prime Meridian
4.
A location card reads 35.7° N, 139.7° E. What can a reader tell from the letters?
  • A. The place is in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres.
  • B. The place is in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres.
  • C. The place is in the Northern and Western Hemispheres.
  • D. The place is in the Southern and Western Hemispheres.
5.
Which location card shows a place in both the Southern Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere?
  • A. Asterfield
  • B. Anchorage
  • C. Quito
  • D. Nairobi
6.
Underline the sentence that best supports the idea that coordinates can identify a precise location.

Asterfield is a small farm town surrounded by fields and low hills.A globe shows Earth on a round surface.A place's coordinate pair works like an address: it narrows a location to the crossing of one latitude and one longitude.The town's display used the globe for checking the general arrangement of continents.

Compare map representations

Use the passage to compare the projections and sort the location cards.

7.
Sort each location card by its longitude.
Asterfield: 98.2° WAnchorage: 149.9° WQuito: 78.5° WNairobi: 36.8° ETokyo: 139.7° E
Western HemisphereEastern Hemisphere
8.
Match each representation to the description that fits it best.
  1. Mercator projection
  2. Robinson projection
  3. Conic projection
  4. Globe
  1. A. Balances several kinds of distortion for a broad world view
  2. B. Shows Earth on a round surface without flattening it
  3. C. Can help with directions but enlarges places near the poles
  4. D. Can work well for a wide east-west region in the middle latitudes
9.
A mapmaker wants a flat map for a broad view of the whole world and wants to balance several kinds of distortion. Which choice best fits the passage?
  • A. A Mercator projection
  • B. A Robinson projection
  • C. A conic projection
  • D. A street map with no coordinates
10.
The map team wants to show the continental United States as one large east-west region. Which projection does the passage suggest trying first?
  • A. A Mercator projection because it shrinks places near the poles
  • B. A Robinson projection because the region is near the equator
  • C. A conic projection because the region is in the middle latitudes
  • D. A globe because it shows small details more clearly
11.
Underline the sentence that best supports the claim that every flat map has trade-offs.

Latitude lines run east to west, but they tell how far north or south a place is from the equator.A place's coordinate pair works like an address.A Robinson projection balances several kinds of distortion.No flat projection shows every distance, shape, direction and area perfectly at the same time.

12.
Word bank: Asterfield · Anchorage · Quito · Nairobi · Tokyo

The location card farthest north of the equator names  .

Apply the map ideas

Use the passage's ideas to explain and solve new map situations.

13.
Two fields have the same actual area. One is near 60° N, and the other is near the equator. If both are shown on a Mercator projection, what is most likely?
  • A. The field near 60° N may look larger than the field near the equator.
  • B. The field near the equator may look larger because it is closer to 0° latitude.
  • C. Both fields will look the same size because they have the same actual area.
  • D. Both fields will appear in the Southern Hemisphere on the projection.
14.
A visitor says a flat map must be more accurate than a globe because it is easier to hang on a wall. Use two details from the passage to explain why that claim is incomplete.
15.
Explain how you would locate a new place marked 20° N, 40° W. State which hemispheres it is in and describe the order you would use to find it.

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