World Geography Standards of Learning (SOL) Practice Test

Latitude measures how far north or south you are from the equator. Lines of latitude run east-west around the globe, like parallel rings, and the coordinates use N or S to show which hemisphere you’re in relative to the equator (for example, 25°N or 10°S). The equator is 0°, with 90°N at the North Pole and 90°S at the South Pole. This is different from longitude, whose lines run north-south and use E or W to indicate east or west of the prime meridian. So the statement that latitude coordinates run east-west and have N or S next to the number is true. For example, a full coordinate might be 40°N, 74°W, where 40°N is the latitude.