The northern latitude line on a map is 40 degrees 45' 30"; the southern latitude line is 40 degrees 37' 00". What distance in latitude is covered?
Norther latitudes can be considered positive, and southern latitudes, negative. (Unless you're from Australia!!)
So the latitude distance is the the northern - the southern latitudes, namely
40°45'30" - (- 37°)
= 77°45'30"
The physical distance
77°45'30" * 6378.1 * π/180
= 8656 km. (approx.)
where 6378.1 is the approximate radius of the earth.
Another way to interpret this problem is
40 45' 30" - 40 37' 00" = 8 minutes, 30 seconds
Thank you Ms. Sue. I did not see the degrees because it went off the window.
I apologize for the oversight.
To find the distance in latitude covered, you need to subtract the southern latitude from the northern latitude.
The northern latitude is given as 40 degrees 45' 30" (40° 45' 30").
The southern latitude is given as 40 degrees 37' 00" (40° 37' 00").
To perform the subtraction, you need to ensure both latitude values are in the same format. Convert the minutes and seconds to decimal degrees.
1 minute = 1/60 degrees, and 1 second = 1/3600 degrees.
For the northern latitude:
45 minutes = 45/60 = 0.75 degrees
30 seconds = 30/3600 = 0.008333 degrees
Adding these values together, the northern latitude becomes:
40° 45' 30" = 40 + 0.75 + 0.008333 = 40.758333 degrees
For the southern latitude:
37 minutes = 37/60 = 0.616667 degrees
Adding these values together, the southern latitude becomes:
40° 37' 00" = 40 + 0.616667 = 40.616667 degrees
Now subtract the southern latitude from the northern latitude to find the distance in latitude covered:
40.758333 degrees - 40.616667 degrees = 0.141666 degrees
Therefore, the distance covered in latitude is approximately 0.141666 degrees.