Grade 8 Term 1

Geography
Study Notes

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 Maps and Globes

#1
Maps and Atlases
• Maps and globes assist us to see where in the world we are.
• A globe is a round model of Earth.
• An atlas is a book of maps.
• There are many different types of atlases.
• A world atlas shows maps of different places in the world.
• Street atlases show maps of streets in a settlement.
• A road atlas shows roads and routes between settlements.

#2
Latitude and Longitude
• Lines of latitude go around the world from east to west and that lines of longitude go from north to south.
• Lines of latitude are also known as parallel arcs.
• They are called arcs and not circles because the Earth is not completely round.
• The parallel arcs are of different sizes.
• The equator is the largest arc.
• The arcs get smaller the further away they are from the equator.
• Each line of latitude has a value in degrees.
• Each line of latitude is measured from an imaginary point in the centre of Earth.
• The equator is the 0 degree line of latitude.
• Lines of longitude pass through both the north and south poles.
• They are not parallel lines.
• Lines of longitude are also known as meridians.
• Greenwich Meridian is the most important line of longitude.
• This is the meridian from where the world time zones are calculated.

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• It is called the Prime Meridian.
• Earth is divided equally into 360˚ of longitude.
• The lines of longitude are 180˚ and 180˚ west of the Greenwich Meridian.

#3
Degrees and Minutes
• Lines of latitude and longitude on maps and globes make it easier to find places has a value in degrees.
• A degree of longitude also covers about 111km.
• One degree of latitude and longitude can be divided into 60 minutes.
• One minute of longitude at the equator is about 1.85km.
• By using degrees and minutes we can pinpoint places to within less than 2km of accuracy.
• Minutes are not shown on most maps because this would cover the map with too many lines.
• We normally need to estimate where the minute lines will be.
• When we combine latitude and longitude position, we are giving the coordinates of a place.
• Always give the latitude position before the longitude position.

Using the Atlas Index to

Find Places on a Map

#1
How to Find Places By
Using Google Maps
1. Open your internet browser and type in https://maps.google.com
2. This will open google maps and show where you are
3. In the search section is where you will be typing in the coordinates.
4. To type the degree symbol, you are going to need to hold down the alt key and type 0176 this will insert ˚.

Example:
if you type in 23˚(alt0176) 50’S,29˚(alt0176)25’E you should end up in Polokwane
• When working with an atlas you will need to look at the back of the atlas this is where you find the index.

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 • A good atlas index lists most of the place names in the atlas.
• The names will be in alphabetical order.
• Next to each place it will list the attitude and longitude coordinates in degrees and minutes.

#2
Kinds of Scale in an Atlas
(World, Regional, Local)
• Not all maps in an atlas are drawn to the same scale.
• The scales are different because the maps show different sizes of land.
• The size of the area covered by the map influences the map scale.
• The larger the area covered by the map, the smaller the map scale.

There are Three Main Scales of Maps in an Atlas:

World scale, regional scale and local scale.

• World: maps of the world, maps of continents

• Local: maps of provinces, maps of one country
• Regional: parts of a continent for example southern Africa

Within these three categories, maps have different scales depending on the size of the area they show.

Scale

• Maps are an exact number of times smaller than the areas they are show.
• Scales compares real distances on the land to the smaller distances on maps.

There Are Different Types of Scales, Namely:

• Word Scale
• Line scale
• Let us recap on them.

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 #1
Word Scale
• Word scales use words or statements to describe the scale of the map. For example, ‘One centimetre on
the map represents 100 kilometres on the ground”.

#2
Line Scale
• A Line scale shows scale using a line, with separations marked by smaller intersecting lines (marked in equal
sections), similar to a ruler.
• It shows the distance on the map compared to distance on the ground.
• Line scales can be confusing as they compare different measurements, for example the line scale may
compare centimetres on the map with kilometres on the ground.

#3
Introduce Ration Scales
(Number Scales)
• Ratio scales show the scale of a map uses a representative fraction to describe the ratio between the map
and the real world.
• This can be shown as 1:50 000.
• This means that 1 centimetre on the map represents 50 000 centimetres in the real world.

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 #4
Calculate Distances Using
Different Scales
Calculate distances between settlements using different scales

http://goo.gl/cvsh2n

On this map of South Africa, the scale is one centimetre to seventy kilometres.

Places in the News

• On the news, there are often stories of different places in the world.
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 • Some of the latest stories have been about some natural disasters for examples Hurricanes, mudslides and
even earthquakes.

The Globe

#1
Hemispheres
• The Earth can be divided along the equator into the
northern and southern hemispheres.
• We divide the Earth along the Greenwich
Meridian and the 180° line of longitude into the
eastern and western hemispheres.
• The Earth is therefore divided into four
hemispheres. Hemisphere means half of a ball.

#2
Earth’s Rotation on its Axis

Day and Night (Review)

• Earth’s axis is the imaginary line from the north to south poles.
• The Earth spins on its own axis.
• We cannot feel the Earth’s rotation because it is SO big.
• Due to the Earth being round, the rays of the sun can only shine on one side of the Earth at the same time.
• This means that due to the Earth’s round shape the one half of the Earth experiences night, while the other
half experiences day.
• It takes the Earth 24 hours to complete one rotation.

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 World Time, Time Zones and
the International Date Line
#1
World Time and Time Zones
• The Earth is constantly rotating around the Sun.
• We measure time against the position of the sun.
• When it is midday in South Africa, it is midnight in New Zealand.
• The Earth rotates at 15° longitude per hour.
• The world’s time zones should change by an hour every 15° of longitude.
• The governments of countries adjust the time zones to fit into the borders of their countries.
• The time zones are also changed to fit around the internal borders such as states in the Americas.
• Large countries like the United States and Australia have several time zones.
• The government of China decided that it should only have one time zone even though the
longitude position of China means it should have four time zones.

#2
The International Date Line
• The International Date Line is on the opposite side of the world to Greenwich Meridian.
• It follows the 180° line of longitude for most of its length.
• Like the other time zones, the International Date Line is adjusted to go around certain islands and countries.
• The International Date Line divides the world into Eastern and Western hemispheres on the Pacific Ocean
part of the world.
• Places in the Eastern hemisphere are a day earlier than places in the Western hemisphere.

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.
#3
South African Standard Time
• South Africa should have two time zones as both the 15° and 30° lines of longitude pass through the
country.
• The South African government decided to change the time zones to fit its borders.
• South African Standard time is based on the 30° line of longitude.
• It is two hours ahead of the Greenwich Meridian.

Earth’s Revolution
Around the Sun
#1
Angle of Axis
• Earth’s axis tilts at 23.5°from perpendicular.
• This means that at certain times of the year different parts of Earth is tilted towards or away from the sun.
• The tilt of the Earth’s axis affects the length of the day and night and is also responsible for the seasons.
• The Earth revolves around the sun. It takes 365 ¼ days for Earth to complete one revolution around the
sun.

#2
Equinox, Solstice and the Change in
the Angle of the Midday Sun
Equinox

• Equinox means equal night.

• The equinoxes are an exact date when the length of day and night is the same number of hours long.
• The equinoxes happen on 21 March and 23 September.

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 • At these times of the year, the angle of Earth’s axis tilts neither towards nor away from the sun. The sun is
directly above is directly above the equator during the equinoxes.
• The equinoxes are associated with the spring and autumn seasons.

Solstice

• The solstices are the dates of the year when one hemisphere has the longest number of hours of
daylight and the opposite hemisphere has the shortest number of daylight.
• Solstices occur on 21 December and on 21 June.
• On 21 June, the sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer.
• On 21 December, the sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn.
• The solstices are associated with the summer and winter seasons.

Change in the Angle of the Midday Sun

• The sun reaches its highest point in the sky at noon.

• The height of the sun in the sky depends on where Earth is in relation to the sun.
• The sun reaches its highest point in the sky for places in the northern hemisphere on 21 June and 21
December for places in the equinoxes, the sun is directly above the equator.
• This means the angles of the sun 90° to Earth.

#3
Seasonal Changes in Lengths
of Day and Night
• The angle of Earth’s axis affects the amount of sunlight certain areas of Earth receive at
different times of the year.
• In June, the parts of the northern hemisphere furthest from the equator receive long hours
of sunlight.
• The southern hemisphere receives less sunlight and has shorter daylight hours.

#4
Seasonal Temperature Changes
• The amount of heat Earth receives from the sun is the main reason for different parts of Earth having
different temperatures.
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 • Places close to the equator receive similar amounts of heating from the sun in every season.
• The temperature of places close to the equator stays constant throughout the year.
• Place closer to the poles have much colder winter temperatures because they receive less heating from the
sun during the long winter months.
• Long summer days help to keep these areas warmer in summer.

What Satellite
Images Look Like
• A satellite is a very complex piece of technology which is
positioned above Earth in space.
• Sensors on the satellite collect information about Earth and
send it back to satellite receiving stations on the ground.
• The information is used to make different types of satellite images.
• Satellite images are NOT photographs. Satellite images are made from a collection of data obtained by
sensors on the satellite.
• Satellite send information to receiving centres on the ground.
• Computers process this data and produce different images that we can view and interpret.

#1
Information From Satellite Images
Water, Vegetation, Land Use and Cloud Patterns

• Satellite images provide a selection of information about Earth, such as weather conditions, soil erosion,
land use patterns, water availability and vegetation cover.
• It is also possible to use a series of satellite images to see how conditions have changed over time.

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 #2
How Satellite Images Are Used

• Satellite images help scientists identify areas where there is water and vegetation, and if rocks contain
valuable resources such as oil, iron and gas deposits, and information about approaching cloud patterns
and storms.
• One of the most uses of satellite is in weather forecasting.
• Weather satellites provide information about the position and types of clouds in the atmosphere, wind
speeds, pressure differences and temperature.
• A weather satellite can supply regular information about how conditions in the atmosphere change over a
short time.
• A trained meteorologist can interpret a weather satellite image and make informed predictions about what
the weather will be like in different places.
• Cloud patterns provide information about approaching rain or snowstorms.
• This information can help people prepared for what could be a natural disaster.

Cliff Notes

• Lines of latitude circle the globe from east to west. Lines of longitude circle the globe from north to south.
• We measure the angle of each line of latitude from the equator, which is at 0°.
• There are 90 degrees of latitude north and south of the equator.
• Longitude lines are also known as meridians. T
• he 0° line of longitude is the Greenwich Meridian.
• We measure the other lines of longitude east and west of the Greenwich Meridian.
• There are 180 degrees of longitude east and 180 degrees of longitude west of the Greenwich Meridian.
• We use degrees and minutes to find places more accurately on maps.
• Each degree of latitude and longitude is divided into 60 minutes.
• The index of an atlas lists places in alphabetical order.
• The index also gives the latitude and longitude position of each place in degrees and minutes.
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• All maps are drawn to a scale.
• The scale shows how much smaller the map is than the same area on the ground.
• We can show scale in words, as a line and as a ratio.
• Ratio scales show us what one unit of measurement on the map represents on the ground, e.g. 1 mm on
the map represents 10 000 mm on the ground. We write this scale as 1:10 000.
• The shape of the Earth means that one half of the earth will always be facing away from the sun while the
other side faces the sun.
• The Earth rotates on its axis. It takes 24 hours to complete one 360-degree rotation.
• The rotation of the earth means that all parts of the Earth’s surface move into and out of the sun’s rays.
• The most obvious experience of the Earth’s rotation is day and night.
• Time changes by one hour for every 15 degrees of longitude.
• Time is measured from the Greenwich Meridian.
• Places to the east of the Greenwich Meridian have earlier times.
• Places to the west have later times.
• The angle of the earth’s axis affects both the length of day and night and it causes the different seasons.
• The Earth takes 365¼ days to complete one revolution around the sun.
• The solstices occur on 21 June and 21 December, when the sun is directly above the tropics.
• The equinoxes occur on 21 March and 23 September, when the sun is directly over the equator on the
earth’s revolution around the sun.
• Satellite images are made up of information sent from satellites in space to receiving stations on the
ground.
• Satellite images can be used to examine a variety of conditions about the Earth, including soil erosion, land
use, vegetation and cloud patterns.

NB: Remember to go through all content

to prepare for your test/exams

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