Hemispheres, the Equator and lines of latitude: what children learn
Geographers use imaginary lines to describe where places are. Lines of latitude run around the Earth from east to west, and the most important is the Equator, at 0°, which splits the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Lines of longitude run from pole to pole; the Prime (or Greenwich) Meridian, at 0°, runs through London and splits the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
There are five major lines of latitude: the Arctic Circle, the Tropic of Cancer, the Equator, the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle. This game asks which hemisphere a country is in and which line matches a description. Every country in the game lies wholly on one side of the Equator, so there is always exactly one right answer.
This topic covers a Key Stage 2 statutory requirement in the National Curriculum in England (Locational knowledge): pupils should be taught to “identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night)”. The programme of study sets this for the whole of Key Stage 2, so schools choose when to teach it; we have placed this game in Year 6 (ages 10–11).
There is no direct equivalent in the US Common Core State Standards.
How to play
Answer 10 questions before the clock runs out. Tap an answer, or press 1 to 4. Each game has 10 multiple-choice questions and a 150-second timer. A wrong answer shows the correct one before moving on. You earn up to three stars depending on your score.
Step by step
- Find the Equator. It is the line of latitude at 0°, halfway between the North and South Poles.
- North or south?. Countries above the Equator on a map are in the Northern Hemisphere; those below are in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Learn the five lines in order. From north to south: Arctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer, Equator, Tropic of Capricorn, Antarctic Circle.
- Find the Prime Meridian. It runs through Greenwich in London at 0° longitude. Places east of it are in the Eastern Hemisphere.
- Link to time and seasons. When it is summer in the UK, it is winter in Australia, because the hemispheres tilt towards the Sun at different times of year.
Worked examples
Example 1: Which hemisphere is Chile in?
Working: Chile runs down the west coast of South America, all of it below the Equator.
Answer: The Southern Hemisphere.
Example 2: Which line is at 0° longitude and runs through Greenwich in London?
Working: Lines of longitude run pole to pole; the one at 0° is the starting point.
Answer: The Prime Meridian.
Example 3: Which of these tropics is north of the Equator?
Working: Remember "Cancer is at the top, Capricorn at the bottom" (C for crab comes first).
Answer: The Tropic of Cancer.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Mixing up latitude and longitude. Latitude lines are like the rungs of a ladder ("ladder-tude"), running across. Longitude lines are long, running from pole to pole.
- Thinking the Equator runs through the UK. The Prime Meridian runs through the UK. The Equator is far to the south, crossing Africa and South America.
- Mixing up Cancer and Capricorn. Cancer is north and Capricorn is south. Alphabetical order works top to bottom on a map: Cancer before Capricorn.
Activities to try at home
- Find the Equator on a globe and spin it to see which countries it crosses.
- Compare today’s weather and season in London and in Sydney or Buenos Aires.
- If you ever visit Greenwich, stand on the Prime Meridian with one foot in each hemisphere.
- Print the worksheet and draw the five lines of latitude on a world map.
Ideas for the classroom
- Use an inflatable globe: pupils catch it and say which hemisphere their thumb is on.
- Plot cities on a world map using their latitude and say which hemisphere they are in.
- Link to science: day and night and the seasons, using a torch and a globe.
- Play the game as a starter and ask pupils to sketch the five lines of latitude from memory.
Free printable game and worksheet
The free printable starts with a game sheet, such as a colour-by-answer picture, an answer maze or a secret-code joke, followed by a worksheet. Both use the same checked questions as the online game, and the answers are on the last page. Print it, or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print menu.
Open the free printable game and worksheet
Frequently asked questions
Why are Brazil and Kenya not in the game?
The Equator passes through them, so they are in both hemispheres. The game only uses countries that are wholly in one hemisphere.
Is the UK in the Western or Eastern Hemisphere?
Both. The Prime Meridian runs through Greenwich, so most of the UK is west of it but parts of eastern England are east of it.
What are time zones?
The world is divided into time zones based on longitude. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is measured from the Prime Meridian, and places further east are ahead of GMT.