OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE

We have traveled to OUTER SPACE and have met some friends… ALIENS!!!!! They want to come visit. How do we describe where we live?

Let’s use GEOGRAPHY!

The Universe is made up of billions of groups or clusters of stars called ____________. 1 Galaxies

We live in the ____________ Galaxy. 2 Milky Way It contains over _____________ stars or suns. 3 100 billion

This is called our _______________. 5 Inside the Milky Way Galaxy, we live within a group of planets and other bodies that ________ around stars or suns. 4 orbit This is called our _______________. 5 Solar System

We live on one of ________ planets that circle or orbit our sun. 6 eight Our planet is called ___________. 7 Earth Each time the earth circles or orbits the sun, we call it a _______, which is 365 and ¼ days. 8 Year

Our earth also spins about itself around an imaginary ______ that runs from the top of the earth to the bottom. This takes 24 hours or one ______. 9 axis day

The earth has one satellite or large body that moves around it which provides light for the earth at night. It is called the ___________. 10 moon Our planet’s shape or form is round like a ball. It is called a __________. 11 sphere

OUR PLACE EARTH

The imaginary horizontal line that divides the earth in half is a “great circle” called the _________ . 1 Equator

Mathematical geographers can divide the earth into two halves Mathematical geographers can divide the earth into two halves. Each section is called a _____________ . 2 Hemisphere

The land above (or north) of the equator is called the _________________ . 3 Northern Hemisphere The land below (or south) of the equator is called the _________________ . 4 Southern Hemisphere

We live in the _________________ . 5 ???? Hemisphere

He very top point of the earth is called the _________ . 6 North Pole He very bottom point of the earth is called the _________ . 7 South Pole

Mathematical geographers also divide the earth in half with a vertical imaginary line, a great circle, which goes from pole to pole. This second “great circle” is called the __________________ . It helps determine what time it is where we live. 8 Prime Meridian

The right side (or east) of the line is called the _________________ . The portion on the left side (or west) of this line is called the _______________ . Western Hemisphere The right side (or east) of the line is called the _________________ . Eastern Hemisphere

We live in the _______________ . ????? Hemisphere

When we look at the globe or map we see many line that run parallel to the equator. These are called ________________. It sounds like the word “ladder”. Latitude Lines

Latitude lines help us measure the distance ________ or _________ of the equator. The lines are measured in equal distance in degrees (90 degrees which is 69 miles). North South

Looking at the globe which latitude line is closest to where we live ??? degrees latitude

Let’s look for some latitude lines that have names like the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn, the North Polar Circle and the South Polar Circle. These help us determine climate of places on earth.

Let’s look at the long parallel lines circling the earth from north to south. These lines are called “meridian” or “longitude lines”. These are LONG to help us remember.

These lines are imaginary circles on the earth that pass through the poles. Geographical longitude is computed from zero degrees to 180 degrees east and west of the Prime Meridian located at Greenwich, England.

Looking at the globe which longitude line runs through Asia? Looking at the globe which longitude line is closest to where we live? _________________ ?? degrees west longitude

Aliens Report Now we can tell the aliens we live at about ____ degrees _____ latitude and ____ degrees _____ longitude. ?? ?? ?? ??

One of the longitude lines on the earth marks the beginning of each new day. It’s called the _______________________. Let’s find it on the globe. International Date Line

What’s our time zone? __________________

Let’s think of some other things we can tell our friends that will help them find us. As we look at the globe, we see blue which represents _________ and great divisions of land which represent __________. Oceans Continents How many continents does our earth have? _______ Seven

Let’s find the continents and name them: North America South America Europe Africa Asia Australia Antarctica Which continent do we live on? _________________ ?????????

Each continent is divided into ________________. Countries Which country do we live in? _________________ ?????????????

?????? Each country is divided into ________________. States Which state do we live in? _____________ ??????

??????????? Each state is divided into ________________. Counties Add Your STATE MAP Here ??????????? Which county do we live in? _________________

Add Your COUNTY MAP Here Each county is divided into ________________. Cities Add Your COUNTY MAP Here ?????????? Which city do we live in? _____________________

Each city is divided into ________________. Streets Add Your CITY MAP Here Which street do we live on? ____________________ ???????????????

Add Your STREET MAP Here Our house has a number of its own. Do you know our house number _________? ???? Add Your STREET MAP Here Do you think our alien friends from outer space will be able to find us? ____________________ YES! YES! YES!

CONGRATULATIONS! You have used mathematical geography to locate your exact position on the earth. You are a mathematical geographers! YES! YES! YES!