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37 votes
Into which two hemispheres would an island at 50°S,

60°W be placed? Which of the five themes are reflected in
your answer?

User Valiante
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1 Answer

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13 votes

Hey there! I'm happy to help!

The Earth is a sphere, which is like a round ball.

The prefix hemi- means half, so a hemisphere is half of a sphere, so in this case, it is half of the Earth.

The Northern and Southern hemispheres are the northern and southern halves of the Earth. The imaginary line dividing these two hemispheres horizontally is called the Equator.

The Eastern and Western hemispheres are the western and eastern halves of the Earth. The imaginary line dividing these two hemispheres vertically is called the Prime Meridian.

The Earth's coordinate system is based around these two lines. It helps us to locate where things are, and that means that the theme of geography were are talking about is location. Each degree is around 60 miles (varies slightly for different directions due to the geometry of the Earth). The N or S coordinate means it is that specific distance North or South of the equator, while E or W is the distance East or West of the Prime Meridian.

We see that our first coordinate has an S, so it will be in the Southern Hemisphere. Our other one has a W so it will also be in the Western Hemisphere.

Have a wonderful day and keep on learning! :D

User Pfulop
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