Expl ring

ry
Junior Seconda

Geography
Map-r ead ing
Skills Third Edition

Teacher’s Edition
1
Ip Kim Wai
Lam Chi Chung
Ho Sau Hung
Tsui Sau Ngan

1
 3
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
Published in Hong Kong by
Oxford University Press (China) Limited
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© Oxford University Press (China) Limited 2022
First Edition published in 2012
Second Edition published in 2017
Third Edition published in 2022
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
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Oxford University Press (China) Limited, at the address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
ISBN: 978-988-8811-36-6
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Illustrated by Bill Cheung

Contents

1 How do we know where we are? 1

2 How can we locate a place using grid references? 13

3 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 20

4 How can we find the area of an object on a map? 40

5 How can we locate places using latitudes and longitudes? 46

Integrated test
Test 1 54

Test 2 58

Test 3 61

Test 4 64

Test 5 66
 Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the following for permission to use photographs and illustrations:

Google Maps 31/top, 31/middle, 31/bottom

Lands Department 2/3, 2/4, 2/5, 7/13, 9/16, 14/3, 16/5, 19/8, 22/4a, 29/8, 34/11,
39/17, 58/5, 59/6, 61/7, 64/9, 67/10 (The Data/Map/Aerial Photo are provided by the
Hong Kong GeoData Store and intellectual property rights are owned by the Government
of the HKSAR.)

Oxford University Press 3/6, 22/4b, 22/4c, 22/4d, 50/9, 50/10

Shutterstock.com 62/8 (seaonweb)

The Greenwich Meridian.org 48/6

Every effort has been made to trace copyright. In the event of any accidental infringement,
the rightful owners are invited to contact the publisher.

Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only.
Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website
referenced in this work.

iv
1 How do we know where we are?

How can we find the location

of Hong Kong Disneyland? By We can simply use a map!
using GPS?

Figure 1 Where is Hong Kong Disneyland?

What is location?
The location（區位）of a place is its position in space. When we learn about geography,
we always ask, ‘Where is a place located?’

Geographers use maps（地圖）and plans（平面圖）to show where places and things

are located. There are a few features that we often find on maps and plans (Figure 2).

1 The location of the Sahara Desert (撒哈拉沙漠) 1 Land use of Area A

45 46 47
2a N 4 2b
N
1°
23 —
2 N 21 4

0°

5 0 150 m
20
1°
23—
2 S 3 Land use
Commercial Industrial Institutional
Residential Transport Recreational
3 Sahara Desert 0 1,600 km 5 Mixed (commercial and residential)

1 Title 3 Key/Legend（圖例）
2a Lines of latitude（緯線）or sometimes lines of longitude（經線）in other cases 4 Direction（方向）
2b Grid lines（格網線） 5 Scale（比例尺）

Figure 2 Features commonly found on a map and a plan

1
1 How do we know where we are?

What are the difference between aerial photos, maps

and plans?
Besides maps and plans, aerial photos（航空照片）(Figure 3) are useful tools to show
the locations of places and things. However, there are some differences between them.

• An aerial photo is a photo taken

from a plane.

• It shows objects that look real and

moving objects such as cars.

• There is no scale in the photo.

Aerial view in
Google Earth
Figure 3 An aerial photo showing Hong Kong
Disneyland

• A map is a drawing of the ground

as seen vertically（垂直地）from
above.
95 96
• The objects are shown by symbols
（符號）. No moving objects are
shown.
• The size of the objects is reduced in
70
scale. Figure 4 A map (1:20,000) showing the same area as
in Figure 3

• A plan is similar to a map, but a

plan contains more details.
• The actual area shown in a plan
is smaller.

Figure 5 A plan of Hong Kong Disneyland (1:1,000)

2
 How do we know where we are? 1

Figures 6 to 9 show some more examples of maps and plans. We may use them in
our daily life. Have you seen them before?
Hung Hom
Tsim Yau Tong Tiu Keng
ShaTsui Leng
Vi c Le Lei Yue Mun Tiu Yue
toria Har bour iY
Green Island Sai Ying Pun North ue Junk Bay
M
Central Point Quarry un
Chau
Kennedy Town District Bay Fat Tong
Wan Chai Causeway Bay Shau Kei
Chau
552m Wan
Victoria Peak Happy Valley Chai Wan
532m
Cyberport Mt. Parker
HONG KONG ISLAND Siu Sai Wan
Tai Tam Reservoirs
Aberdeen 348m
Ea Wong Chuk Hang 433m Mt Collinson
st

Ta
Violet Hill
l
ne

La

th
m Ap Lei Chau
an

on
Yung m
Ch

gC
a Middle e 386m
Shue Ch uls Shek O
Island Rep ay The Twins

ha
Wan an B

nn
ne

el
l Tai Tam Bay

Stanley
Round Island
Sok Kwu Wan Cape D’Aguilar
Stanley
Ha Mei Wan Peninsula

Lamma Island Bluff Head

Figure 6 A topographic map（地形圖）
Po Toi Islands of Hong Kong Island (1:200,000)

Russia

Kazakhstan
Mongolia

Uzbekistan
Kyrgyzstan North
Korea
Turkmenistan Tajikistan
South Japan
Korea
Afghanistan China
Iran Nepal
Bhutan
Pakistan
India
Myanmar
Laos
Thailand Philippines
Bangladesh Vietnam

Sri Lanka Cambodia

Figure 7 A political map（政區地圖）of
Malaysia Asia (1:110,000,000)

Clara Vincent Polly Gloria Robbie Frontdoor

Windows

David Joyce Silvia Marco Rita

Daisy Benjamin Johnny Tina Daniel

Windows

Michael Sophie Sam Jacob Yvonne

Teacher’s desk
Door
Blackboard

Figure 8 A classroom plan (1:45) Figure 9 A floor plan of a residential flat (1:200)

3
1 How do we know where we are?

1.1
1 What are the differences between an aerial photo, a map and a plan? Complete
Table 1 by circling the correct answers.
Table 1

An aerial photo A map A plan

( Look real / ( Look real / ( Look real /

Objects
Shown by symbols ) Shown by symbols ) Shown by symbols )

Moving
( Shown / Not shown ) ( Shown / Not shown ) ( Shown / Not shown )
objects

Scale of ( No scale / ( No scale / ( No scale /

objects Drawn to scale ) Drawn to scale ) Drawn to scale )

2 Refer to Figures 10 and 11. Compare their characteristics in Table 2.

N 100

101

India Car park 105

104
102 103
128
Bangladesh 121 122 123
124 107
106

120 125 7
126 12 108
119
i 109
Dhaka 113 112 111

Food 118 117

116 115 114 110

1°
23 — court
2 N
0 450 m
Figure 11

0 100 km

River Capital
International boundary

Figure 10
Table 2

Figure 10 Figure 11

A map or a plan? A ( map / plan ) A ( map / plan )

Area shown ( Larger / Smaller ) ( Larger / Smaller )

Details of objects ( More details / Less details ) ( More details / Less details )

4
 How do we know where we are? 1

How are objects shown on maps?

Geographical features are shown by using symbols on maps. These symbols are called
conventional signs（慣用符號）. They are the ‘key’ to reading maps. Figure 12 shows
the conventional signs used in a 1:20,000 official map produced by the Hong Kong SAR
government.

RAILWAY and ROADS TOPOGRAPHIC and WATER-RELATED FEATURES

Underground
Railway and station
Contour line Spot height
Expressway 1
Route number 228

100
200
Main road 1

C
Catchwater
100 Cliff or
Elevated road River Quarry

Secondary road Bridge Slope

Footbridge
Reservoir Sand/Pebbles
Double width Dam Bund

Nu
lla
Single width R
Pond

h
Restricted access
Rocky stream
Tide rock
Submarine
Mangrove

5
Track Mudflat contour line

Non-motorable road Weir Pier

Jetty
Swamp
Road under construction Coastline
Boulder or rocky area
Footpath

BUILDINGS OTHER FEATURES

Podium
Built-up area Boundary of Special
Administrative Region
Temporary structure Pylon
Power line
Government offices
Trigonometric station
Fire station
Signal station
Hospital/Clinic /
Navigation beacon or light
Nautical
/ Aeronautical
Police station
Declared monument
Church
Park/Sports ground /
Monastery/Temple
Marine park/reserve or
Mosque/Synagogue / Nature reserve

Post office Country park

Country/Marine park Cultivation

management centre
Woodland

Figure 12 Conventional signs used in 1:20,000 official maps in Hong Kong

5
1 How do we know where we are?

We can group these signs according to their colours and shapes（形狀）(Table 3).
This helps us remember them easily.

Table 3 Some guidelines on reading common conventional signs used in 1:20,000 official
maps in Hong Kong

Colour Type of feature Example

Grey Buildings, built-up areas or Podium

man-made features（人工景物）

Orange line Trunk routes（公路幹線）or Route number

main roads 1

Black line Railways or footpaths

Railway

Footpath

Green Plants/Greenery/Green field

Cultivation/Farmland

Woodland

/
Park/Sports ground

Blue Water bodies

River Lake

Reservoir

Dam
Sea

Brown Relief（地勢）of land

200
200

0
10

Contour line

6
 How do we know where we are? 1

1.2
Figure 13 is a 1:20,000 map of Tsing Yi. Refer to the map and identify the features
marked 1–10.
75
1 2
Cheung Hang Estate

3
4

6
7
74

10 73
9

00 01 02

72
Figure 13

1 6

2 7

3 8

4 9

5 10

7
1 How do we know where we are?

Besides 1:20,000 maps, the Hong Kong SAR government also publishes 1:5,000
official maps. They are street plans（街道圖）. Some conventional signs are similar to the
1:20,000 maps, but some are different.

SETTLEMENTS and ROADS ELEVATION DATA

10 Elevation tints
8
2
1 1
6 Sea Land 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900+ Metres
12 B
7
R
4 9 5 + 81.7 Spot height (metres)
3
11
BUILDINGS and TRANSPORT
*1 Building
2 Podium Hospital/Clinic
*3 Village-type house
Fire station/Police station or police post
4 Temporary structure
Government offices/District office
5 Open-sided structure
Municipal services building/Library
6 Proposed building
Post office/Toilet
7 Expressway
Cooked food stall/Market or bazaar
8 Main road
9 Secondary road Community centre/Theatre or cinema
10 Road under construction Hotel/Commercial centre or complex
11 Proposed road Sports ground/Indoor games hall
12 Elevated walkway Playground/Swimming pool
B Barred access Tsz Tong/Temple
R Restricted access Church/Mosque
Primary/Secondary school
Steps
Kindergarten/Special school
Track, Footpath Museum/Declared monument
Pavilion/Electricity substation

WATER-RELATED FEATURES Park/Country park management centre

Signal station/Earth satellite station
Pond Car park/Service reservoir
MTR access/Light rail stop
Watercourses Bus/Green minibus terminus
Petrol/LPG filling station
Dam
Cycling track/Helicopter landing pad
Beacon or light (Nautical / Aeronautical)
TOPOGRAPHY HKTB Visitor Information and Services Centre

Boulder/Rock outcrop OTHERS

Cliff/Quarry Artificial slope

Rocky area Power line, Pylon

Marsh/Swamp Fence, Wall

Mangrove Cemetery

Sand/Beach / *Cultivation

* Two colour schemes are used in official maps.

Figure 14 Conventional signs used in 1:5,000 official maps in Hong Kong

8
 How do we know where we are? 1

1.3
1 Refer to Figure 15 and identify the features marked a–f.

a
a
b b

N c
c

d
e

f
Scale: 1:5,000

Figure 15

2 Figure 16 is a 1:5,000 map showing the area around Tsuen Wan New Town. Refer to
the map and identify the features marked a–f.

a
b a

e
b
f

f
c

d e

Figure 16

9
 1 How do we know where we are?

What might geographical features on a map imply?

Geographical features shown by conventional signs on a map are useful hints for
understanding the characteristics of the place. Figure 17 shows some examples.

Sea

❼ ❼ Straight coastline:
❶ Straight river Reclaimed land
channel: Flood
control measures
❽ Works in progress:
l
ne

（防止泛濫的 ❶
an

措施） ❽ Changing
Works in progress
ch

❾ land use/New
er
Riv

development

❷ Expressway/Main
road/Railway: ❾ Temporary
❷ structures:
Convenient
transport ❷ Low-income
housing

❸ Settlement: ❿ Slope: Natural

❷
Providing labour steep slopes/
or market ❿ Artificial slopes,
20 such as cut slopes
❸ 40 （削坡）
❹ Temple/Declared 60
monument: ⓫
Long history of ⓫ Residential
❹
development buildings on
uplands: high- or
middle-income
❺ River: Water housing areas
supply to
farmland
❺

❻ Farmland/Fish
pond: Lowland
and rural area ❻ ❻

Scale: 1:20,000

Figure 17 Information implied by some conventional signs

10
 How do we know where we are? 1

1.4
Refer to Figure 18 and complete Questions 1 and 2 (p. 12).

N
Housing
estate

B
60
40 A
20

Pier

C
D

20 Contour line (m) Housing

estate
Scale: 1:20,000
Figure 18

1 Refer to areas A–D. What geographical features are found in these areas? What do
these features imply? Complete Table 4.
Table 4

Area Geographical feature Information implied

A Temporary structures People living there have ( high / low ) incomes

B A ( straight / curved ) coastline It is r land

C Declared monuments and The village has a ( long / short ) history of

in a village development

D Farmland near a river and a road The area is favourable for farming because:
• the river provides water
• farm produce can be transported to the
by the road nearby

Straight river channel There is a control

measure nearby

11
 1 How do we know where we are?

2 The government has planned to develop an industrial estate in Area B (Figure 18 on p. 11).
a Complete Table 5 to show the advantages of developing the industrial estate
there. Quote map evidence to support your answers.
Table 5

Advantage Map evidence

Convenient transport • There are main providing

convenient road transport
• There is a providing sea transport

Availability of • The area along the coast is low-lying/The height of

land is below metres
land • Reclaimed land is flat
• The coastal location allows more land to be obtained
through in the future

Availability of labour

b What problems may the industrial estate bring to the farmers in Area D?

discharged from the factories may pollute the river nearby.

The polluted river water is not suitable for . This may lower
farm production and thus reduce the of the farmers in Area D.

c i What problems may the industrial estate bring to the residents in Area A?

• Exhaust gas emitted from the factories may lead to

pollution.

• on the roads may occur because

many lorries go in and out of the industrial estate.

ii Some people may choose to stay in Area A despite the possible problems
mentioned above. Why?

• The industrial estate nearby provides for the residents

in Area A. The residents who work at the industrial estate can save
travelling time and .

• There are community facilities nearby, e.g. (name ONE).

• As the people living in Area A earn incomes, they may

not be able to afford to move to other places.

12
2 How can we locate a place using grid
references?

How can we locate Tarzan’s We can make use

Treehouse ( 泰山樹屋 ) in Hong Kong of grid references
Disneyland on a map? ( 格網座標 )!

Figure 1 How can we locate a place on a map?

What are grid references?

In our daily life, we always come across grid systems（格網系統）.

Study Figure 2a. Fiona and her schoolmates are lining up in the playground. They
are standing in columns（欄 ／行）and rows（列）. If each column and row has a number
(Figure 2b), we can use the numbers to tell the location of each student.

I am standing in column
1 and row 3. My location
can be written as ‘C1, R3’.

Column
R3
Fiona

R2
May

R1
Row Lisa Emiy

C1 C2 C3 C4
Figure 2a Students lining up in columns and rows Figure 2b This forms a grid system

The columns and rows shown above form a grid system. We can use a grid system
to locate places on maps and plans. These grid systems are called grid references.

13
 2 How can we locate a place using grid references?

2.1
Refer to Figure 2b on p. 13.

1 What are the locations of the following students?

a Lisa b May

2 Label the students at the following locations on Figure 2b.

a C2, R2 Ben b C4, R3 David

How can we locate a place on a map by using grid

references?
To locate a place on a map using grid references, we need to have two sets of imaginary
（假想的）lines on the map. These are called grid lines. Look at Figure 3. The vertical
lines are called eastings（東行線） (i.e. the orange ones); the horizontal（水平的）lines
are called northings（北行線）(i.e. the blue ones).

Each grid line has its number. The number of an easting (the orange numbers) and
the number of a northing (the blue numbers) form a grid reference on the map. Each
grid reference represents a grid square（格網方格）.
Easting Easting

62 Northing
The numbers of the northings
increase to the north

Take this reading

for the grid Grid square
reference of this
square
06 61
Easting Northing

61 Northing

06 07

Figure 3 A grid system on a map The numbers of the eastings increase to the east

We can locate objects by using four-figure grid reference（四位數字格網座標）and

six-figure grid reference（六位數字格網座標） .

14
 How can we locate a place using grid references? 2

1 How can we find out the four-figure grid reference of

a place?
Refer to Figure 3 again. The number of each grid line has two digits. When we combine
the number of the easting to the bottom of the square (i.e. ‘06’ in this example) and
the number of the northing to the left of the same square (i.e. ‘61’), we can get a
four-figure grid reference (‘0661’).

Tips on reading grid lines

When locating a place, always remember to read the number of
the easting first, then the number of the northing.

2.2
Refer to Figure 4. Give the four-figure grid references of the following features.

26
N Road
River
Bridge
Temple
Beacon
25
Golf course
Country park
management centre
Sea
Country park
Scale: 1:20,000
24

23
09 10 11 12 13
Figure 4
1 Bridge

2 Temple

3 Beacon

4 Golf course

5 Country park management centre

15
 2 How can we locate a place using grid references?

2 How can we find out the six-figure grid reference of a place?

If we want to tell the location of an object
more accurately（準確地）, we can subdivide 62
（再分割）a grid square into 10 × 10 smaller 619 9

grid squares. These small squares are 8

7
represented by six-figure grid references. For
6
example, the trigonometric station (196 m) 5

in Figure 5 is 069619. 4

3
The first small square
2 always starts from ‘0’
1

61 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Follow the steps below to find out the 06 069 07

six-figure grid reference of the trigonometric Figure 5 Six-figure grid reference
station.

1 Find out the four-figure grid reference

2b
of the trigonometric station. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2c
62
1a The four-figure grid reference is 2a
0661. 0
cm
1 2 3 4 5

1b Leave a space after the numbers

of the easting and northing
respectively.

2 Find out the easting reading.

2b
2a Place a ruler over the trigonometric 61
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
station. It should be parallel（平行） 06 07
2d 069
to the northings.
1a
2b Divide the grid square between 0 6 6 1

eastings 06 and 07 into 10 equal 1b

0 6 6 1
parts. Then, number the lines from
‘0’ to ‘9’. 2d
0 6 9
2c Start reading from line ‘0’ and go
east until you get the column in
which the trigonometric station lies.
2d Write down the number of the line on the left of the column, i.e. 9. Thus, the
easting reading of the trigonometric station is 069.

16
 How can we locate a place using grid references? 2

3 Find out the northing reading.

62 3c

5
3a Place a ruler over the trigonometric 619 9 9
3d
8 8
station again. This time it should be

4
7 7
parallel to the eastings. 6 6

3
3b Divide the grid square between 5 5
4 4

2
northings 61 and 62 into 10 equal
3 3
parts. Then, number the lines from ‘0’ 2 2

1
to ‘9’. 3b 1 1 3b

cm
61 0 0

0
3c Again, read from line ‘0’ and move 06 07
3a
north until you get the row in which
3d
the trigonometric station lies. 6 1 9

3d Write down the number of the line

at the bottom of the row, i.e. 9. Thus, 62
619
the northing reading of the trigonometric 9
069
8
station is 619. Any objects inside this row
7 have a northing of 619

6
4 Combine the numbers of the easting and the
5
northing to get the six-figure grid reference. 4

➔ 069619 3
(Note: 1 Measure the centre of the 2 Any objects inside this
conventional signs. column have an easting
2 If the conventional sign falls 1
of 069
on the easting or northing, 61 0
Finding out four-figure and take the number of the grid 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
six-figure grid references line as the reading.) 06 07

Steps to finding out the grid references

from an incomplete 69

grid square
We can take similar 1 Place a ruler on the map,
0 1 2 3 4 5 with the ruler marker of
cm
steps to find out the ‘5 cm’ placing exactly on
easting 05. Then count
six-figure grid reference Count backward from the easting
backward
of a feature from an
incomplete grid square
2 The six-figure grid reference
(Figure 6). 1 680 048
of the swimming pool is
048680
68
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
04 05 06

Figure 6 Finding out the grid reference from an incomplete grid square

17
 2 How can we locate a place using grid references?

2.3
Refer to Figure 7 and answer the following questions.

Sea

35

34

50
100

15
0
50 Contour
line (m)
Scale: 1: 5,000
200
33
51 52 53
Figure 7

1 Give the four-figure grid references of the following features. (Hint: There can be more
than one answer.)

a Cultivation
b A car park

2 Give the six-figure grid references of the following features.

a A hotel d A pavilion

b A clinic e A bus terminus

c A temple f A playground

18
 How can we locate a place using grid references? 2

2.4
Refer to Figure 8 which shows a 1:20,000 map of Kwai Chung. Answer the following
questions.

78

77

76

04 05 06
Figure 8

1 Give the four-figure grid references of the following features. (Hint: There can be more
than one answer.)

a Tunnel
b Kwai Chung Estate

c Shing Mun Valley Park

2 Give the six-figure grid references of the following features.

a The fire station next to Wo Yi Hop Road

b The post office in Lei Muk Shue Estate

c The church next to Kwai Chung Estate

19
 3 How can we locate a place using distance
and direction?

We are now at Tarzan’s Treehouse.

Besides grid references, are there
any other ways we can locate it on
the map?

We can also locate Tarzan’s

Treehouse using distance and
direction. To do this, we need to
know the scale of the map first.

Figure 1 What other methods can we use to locate a place on a map?

Besides grid references, we can locate a place on a map by finding the distance and the
direction of the place from us.

To find out the actual distance between two places, we must know the scale of a
map first.

What is scale?
Scale is the ratio（比率）between the actual size of an object and its reduced size.
Many things around us are reduced in scale. Figure 2a is an example.

Figure 2a A model of a historical building in Figure 2b The actual building of the model
Wan Chai (1:50) shown in Figure 2a

20
 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 3

A map is the drawing of the top views of objects on the ground. We cannot draw
the actual size of objects on the map. We have to reduce the size of objects to fit onto a
piece of paper. We use map scales to show the number of times that the actual size of
the ground has been reduced.

1 How can we find out the scale of our desk in the

classroom?
Follow the steps below and fill in your answers.

Step

1 Figure 3a is a desk in the The length of the

classroom reduced in scale. desk in Figure 3a is
Measure Figure 3a with a ruler. cm.

0 1 2 3
cm

Figure 3a

2 Measure the actual length of The actual length of

the desk in the classroom as in the desk is
Figure 3b. cm.

Figure 3b

3 Find out the scale used in Length of the desk in Figure 3a

___________________________ _ = (_________
) cm ( _________
) cm
=
Figure 3a. Actual length of the desk ( ) cm ( ) cm
Note: Remember to simplify（約簡）the fraction（分數）.

4 Cancel the units (cm). ( )

______ Make sure this is ‘1’.
( )

5 The scale used in Figure 3a is 1:( )

21
 3 How can we locate a place using distance and direction?

3.1
Try to draw your Map-reading Skills book in a scale of 1:10
in the box provided.

2 What are large-scale maps? What are small-scale maps?

Figures 4a–d show the location of Hong Kong at different scales.

Figure 4a Hong Kong on a 1:5,000 map Figure 4b Hong Kong on a 1:200,000 map

Figure 4d Hong Kong on a 1:15,000,000 map Figure 4c Hong Kong on a 1:1,000,000 map

22
 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 3

A large-scale map shows a smaller actual area in more detail. For example, a 1:5,000
map (Figure 4a) is a large-scale map. Objects shown are large.

A small-scale map covers a larger actual area in less detail. For example, a 1:200,000
map (Figure 4b) is a small scale map. Objects shown are small.

Which scale is larger?

1:200 1:20,000,000

1 >
1
200 20,000,000
The larger the value
of the denominator
, the smaller
the scale.

Therefore, scale 1:200 is larger.

3.2
Compare Figures 4c and 4d. Which map has a larger scale? Compare the differences
between these two maps and complete Table 1.
Table 1

Figure 4c Figure 4d

• 1: • 1:
Scale
• ( Larger / Smaller ) • ( Larger / Smaller )

A ( larger-scale / smaller-scale ) A ( larger-scale / smaller-scale )

Type of map
map map

Actual area shown ( Larger / Smaller ) ( Larger / Smaller )

Details of objects ( More / Less ) ( More / Less )

23
 3 How can we locate a place using distance and direction?

3 How is scale shown on maps?

There are three ways to show the scale on maps.

a Representative fraction (R.F.)（分數比例尺）

A representative fraction shows the scale in the form of a ratio. For example, 1:20,000.

It can also be written in the form of a fraction. For example, 1:20,000 can be written
1
as .
20,000

b Statement scale（說明式比例尺）
A statement scale describes the scale in words, for example, 1 cm to 200 m.

c Linear scale（直線比例尺）
A linear scale shows the scale on a line 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 m

(Figure 5). Figure 5 A linear scale of 1:20,000

4 How can we change one type of scale to another?

a Linear scale è Statement scale
Example: 1 Put a ruler under the linear scale.
0 100 200 300 400 500 m

0 1 2 3 4 5
cm

2 Find out the actual length as shown by 1 cm (i.e. 100 m)

3 Write down the scale: 1 cm:100 m.
4 Write down the scale in the form of a statement scale: 1 cm to 100 m.

b R.F. è Statement scale

Example: 1:10,000 (R.F.)
= 1 cm:10,000 cm (add same units, e.g. cm, on both sides)
= 1 cm:100 m (100 cm = 1 m)
= 1 cm to 100 m (statement scale)

24
 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 3

c Statement scale è R.F.

Example: 1 cm to 100 m (statement scale)
= 1 cm:100 m
= 1 cm:10,000 cm (1 m= 100 cm)
= 1:10,000 (cancel the units)
1
= 1:10,000 or (R.F.)
10,000

d Statement scale è Linear scale

Example: 1 cm to 100 m (statement scale)
1 Draw a line of a few centimetres, e.g. 5 cm, with a ruler.
2 Divide the line into sections of 1 cm.

0 1 2 3 4 5
cm

3 Label the linear scale from left to right at the divisions. Write the unit
of measurement (m).
0 100 200 300 400 500 m

e R.F. è Linear scale

Example: 1 Change the R.F. into a statement 1: 10,000 1 cm to 100 m
(R.F.) (Statement scale)
scale.

2 Change the statement scale into a 1 cm to 100 m

(Statement scale)
linear scale.

0 100 200 300 400 500 m

1 cm (Linear scale)

f Linear scale è R.F.

Example: 1 Change the linear scale into 0 100 200 300 400 500 m

a statement scale.
2 Change the statement scale into an R.F. 1 cm to 100 m
(Statement scale)
1 cm to 100 m è 1:10,000
Converting map
scales (Statement scale) (R.F.)

25
 3 How can we locate a place using distance and direction?

Tips on working on linear scale

We seldom use decimal numbers（小數）and fractions in a linear scale because they are
difficult to read. Instead, we usually use integers（整數）in a scale mark（刻度）.

For example, in Figure 6, 1 cm is used to represent 1.5 m in a linear scale. In order

to make it easier to read, we can use 2 cm to represent 3 m.
0 1.5 3 4.5 6 7.5 m

0 3 6 9m

Figure 6 Change a linear scale with decimal numbers to the one with integers for easy reading

3.3
1 1:10,000 means one unit of distance on the map represents units
on the actual ground.

2 1 cm to 100 m means 1 cm on the map represents m on the ground.

3 Change the following scales into other types by completing Table 2.

Table 2

Statement scale R.F. Linear scale

a 1:2,000 0 20 40 60 80 100 m

b 1 cm to 500 m 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 m

c 1 cm to 15 km 1:1,500,000

d 0 100 200 300 400 500 km

e 0 7 14 km

26
 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 3

How can we measure the actual distance between two

places on a map?
After learning different types of map scale, we can make use of the scale of map to work
out the actual distance between two places.

1 How can we measure the actual direct distance between X

and Y according to a linear scale?
1 Measure the length of road section X–Y with
X
a ruler. It is 3.7 cm.
0
cm 1
2
Y
50 3
m
4
10
0 m

0 200 400 600 800 m

2 Put the ruler under the linear scale of the 0 200 400 600 800 m

map to find out the map scale. It is 1 cm to 0 1 2 3 4

cm
200 m.

3 Calculate the actual direct distance.

• Map scale: 1 cm to 200 m
• Distance between X and Y on the map: 3.7 cm
• Actual direct distance between X and Y:
Measuring actual
200 m × 3.7 = 740 m direct distance

3.4
Work out the actual direct distance between P and Q.

R.F.: 1:5,000 • Map scale: 1 cm to 50 m

Q
• Distance between P and Q on the map: cm
• Actual direct distance between P and Q
P
= m×
= m

27
 3 How can we locate a place using distance and direction?

3.5
Refer to Figure 7 and answer the following questions.

44
X
N

P
Y

43

0 50 m
Q
42
17 18 19 20
Figure 7
1 a What type of scale is shown on the map? Circle the correct answer.
( R.F. / Linear scale )

b Change the scale into a statement scale.

2 Work out the actual direct distance between the indoor games hall and the museum.
Show your calculations（運算）. (Hint: Measure the distance between the centres of the
conventional signs.)

3 Work out the actual lengths of the following features. Show your calculations.

a Power line P–Q

b Footpath X–Y

28
 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 3

3.6
Refer to Figure 8 which shows a 1:20,000 map of Sha Tin. Answer the following questions.

79

78

77
10 11 12
Figure 8
1 Change the scale of the map into a statement scale.

2 Work out the actual direct distance between the following places. Show your
calculations.

a The police station (109783) and the declared monument (113779).

b The Prince of Wales Hospital (118775) and the post office at Sha Kok Estate
(110773).

3 What is the actual length of Tai Chung Kiu Road running in grid square 1177? Show
your calculations.

29
 3 How can we locate a place using distance and direction?

2 How can we measure the actual length of a curved road

between X and Y according to an R.F.?

1 Place a piece of paper strip along the first R.F. 1:20,000

straight section of the road. Mark the X

starting point X.
Y

100
m

2 Mark the end-point of this section on the R.F. 1:20,000

paper strip and the map. X

100
m

3 Turn the paper strip along the next section. R.F. 1:20,000

100
m

4 Repeat these steps until you reach point Y.

Mark Y on the paper strip.
R.F. 1:20,000

Y
50
m
100
m

5 Measure the length of the road on the

paper strip with a ruler. It is 4.5 cm.
0 1 2 3 4 5
cm

30
 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 3

6 Change the R.F. on the map into a statement scale for easy calculation. It is 1 cm
to 200 m.

7 Work out the actual length of the road by following these steps:
• Map scale: 1 cm to 200 m
• Length of the road on the map: 4.5 cm
• Actual length of the curved road:
Measuring the actual
200 m × 4.5 = 900 m length of a curved road

How can we measure distance on Google Maps?

We can measure the actual distance of different places on Google Maps.

1 Go to Google Maps (https://www.

google.com/maps) and search for the
locations you want.

2 Right-click the starting point. Select

‘measure distance（測量距離）’.
2

3 Click the end point (or second

point) to create a direct line from
3
the original point. The actual direct
distance between the two points is
shown along the line and in the pop-
up box.

4 If you want to measure the distance

along a path with different points,
click these points in correct order.
4
5 The total distance will appear in the
pop-up box as well.

6 To clear the lines and end the

measurement, simply right click and
5
choose ‘clear measurement ( 清除測量
結果 )’.

31
 3 How can we locate a place using distance and direction?

3.7
Refer to Figure 9 and answer the following questions.
06 07 08
N

23

22

Block A

Block B

Block C
0 30 60 90 m

21
Key
Police station Commercial centre Sports ground
Museum Park Footpath
Market Declared monument Road

Figure 9
1 a Which type of scale is shown on the map? Circle the correct answer.
( Linear scale / Statement scale / R.F. )

b Change the map scale into the other two types of scale.

32
 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 3

2 Work out the actual length of the footpath between the museum (0723) and the
declared monument (0722). Show your calculations.

3 a Find out the actual length of the road running in grid squares 0621, 0622 and
0721. Show your calculations.

b A car is driving at an average speed of 400 m/min. Calculate the travelling time for
the car to pass through the road mentioned in 3(a).

3.8
Refer to Figure 10 and answer the following questions.

Wu Kai Sha
Tuen Mun

Hung Hom
Tuen Ma Line
0 5 km
MTR Station

Figure 10
1 Find out the actual length of Tuen Mun–Hung Hom Section of Tuen Ma Line. Show
your calculations.

2 A train travels from Tuen Mun Station at a speed of 60 km/hour at 10:00 a.m.
Suppose the train is non-stop between stations. When will the train arrive at Hung
Hom Station?

33
 3 How can we locate a place using distance and direction?

3.9
Refer to Figure 11 which shows a 1:5,000 map. Answer the following questions.

25

Z
Y Footpath X

24

40 41 42
Figure 11
1 Change the map scale into a linear scale.

2 Work out the actual length of A Kung Kok Shan Road between spot height 108.2
(404243) and spot height 124.8 (407235). Show your calculations.

3 If Ryan walks at a speed of 3 km/hour, how long does it take him to walk from Point
Z near spot height 250.3 (428248) to Point Y (409246) along Footpath X?
Actual length of the footpath:

Time required:

34
 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 3

How are directions shown on maps?

1 By compass points
a What are compass points?
NNW
N NNE
A compass point（羅盤方位）is a common way to NW NE
show direction. The four main points of direction are: WNW ENE
north (N), east (E), south (S) and west (W).
W E
On a compass（指南針）, there are usually four WSW ESE
other points between the main points: north-east (NE), SW SE

south-east (SE), south-west (SW) and north-west (NW). SSW

S SSE

Figure 12 shows a 16-point compass, which gives

more accurate directions. Figure 12 A 16-point compass

b How can we find the compass point of Place Y from Place X?

1 Draw a cross（十字記號）over Place X and mark
N
the four main compass points. Y

2 Draw a line linking places X and Y. The direction of W E

X
Place Y from Place X is north-west (NW).
S

How can we find directions with a compass?

Follow the steps below.

1 Hold a compass horizontally.

2 Rotate the compass until the red needle points to the

north (N) of the compass.

3 In which direction is the bus stop from you? It is to your

east.
In which direction is the tram station from you?

35
 3 How can we locate a place using distance and direction?

2 By whole-circle bearings
Meas
ure
the
a What is a whole-circle bearing? 360°
be
ar
in
N

gs
We can also divide a compass into 360°

in
315° 45°

clo
NW ° 0° 20° NE
(Figure 13). Both 0° and 360° refer to 340

ckw
0° 40
32 °

ise
north; 90° is east; 180° is south; and

0°

60

directi
260° 280° 30

°
270° is west. We call these whole-circle

80° 100° 12
W E

on
270° 90°
bearings（方位角）.

0°
24

0°
The degrees（度）are measured in 0°
22 °
°1
60°
14
0
180° 200
clockwise（順時針）direction from the SW
225°
SE
135°
north (0°). It is a more accurate way than S
180°
compass points to show direction.

Figure 13 A compass showing whole-circle bearings

b How can we find the whole-circle bearing between two places on

a map?
We can take the following steps to find out the whole-circle bearing of Stanley from
Sha Tin.
1 Draw a straight line between Sha Tin N Sha
and Stanley. Tin

Tsim Sha Tsui

Mui Wo

0 5 km Stanley

2 Draw a cross over Sha Tin. Make sure N Sha

that the direction of the cross is the Tin

same as the one on the map.

Tsim Sha Tsui

Mui Wo

0 5 km Stanley

36
 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 3
0°
0 10 2
0 30
40

3 Place a protractor（量角器）over Sha

50
60
N

70
Sha

80 90 100 110
90°
Tin. Make sure that 0° aligns with the Tin

12
13 0
north and 90° aligns with the east.

0
14
15 0
160 0
170 180

Tsim Sha Tsui

Mui Wo

0 5 km Stanley

0°
0 10 2
0 30
40

4 The whole-circle bearing of Stanley

50
60
N

70
Sha

80 90 100 110
90°
from Sha Tin is 170°. Tin

12
13 0
0
14
15 0
160 0
170 180

170°

Tsim Sha Tsui

Mui Wo

0 5 km Stanley

How can we find the whole-circle bearing of Mui Wo

from Sha Tin?
We can first draw a straight line between 0 160
170 180
0 15
14

the two places. Then, we can place the N

0
0 13
12
80 90 100 110

Sha
protractor over Sha Tin while 0° is on the Tin
70
60

south and 90° is on the west. 180°

50

40
30 0

55°
0 10 2

This time, the 0° and 90° marks

Tsim Sha Tsui
on the protractor represent 180° and
270° respectively. Therefore, when
Mui Wo
the angle（角度）55° is shown on the
protractor, it means that the whole-circle
Stanley
bearing of Mui Wo from Sha Tin is: 0 5 km

180° + 55°
= 235° Figure 14 Finding the whole-circle bearing of Mui
Wo from Sha Tin

37
 3 How can we locate a place using distance and direction?

3 By reduced bearings
a What is a reduced bearing?
A reduced bearing（象限角）shows North-west quadrant North-east quadrant
direction by combining the four basic
N
compass points (N, E, S and W) with
Measure from Measure from
whole-circle bearings. north to west
40° 0° 20° north to east
°3 40
3 20 °

The circle of the compass is divided

0°

60
N70°W

260° 280° 30

°
70°
into four quadrants（象限） , namely

80° 100° 12
W E
north-east, south-east, south-west and 15°

0°
S15°E
north-west quadrants. Each quadrant

24

0°
° 14
°1 20 0
has 90° (Figure 15).
60° °2
180° 200
Measure from Measure from
south to west south to east
The direction is read either from S

the north or the south, towards the east

South-west quadrant South-east quadrant
or the west. Therefore, the angle of the
bearing can never be greater than 90°. Figure 15 Four quadrants of a compass

b How can we find the reduced bearing

of Place P from Place Q? N

1 Draw a cross over Place Q and mark the four

main compass points. Q
W E

P
S

2 Place a protractor over Place Q. Make sure 0°

N
aligns with the north and 90° aligns with the east.
0 10 2
Then, measure the degree from the south towards 0 3
0
40
50

the east, i.e. 180° – 150° = 30°.

60
70 80

W Q 150° E
90 100 11

3 Place P is in the south-east quadrant. So, the

0 12
01
30

reduced bearing of Place P is S30°E from Place Q.

14
01
50
160
170 180

P
S 180° – 150°
= 30°

Finding direction

38
 How can we locate a place using distance and direction? 3

3.10
Refer to Figure 16. Find the directions of the
N
places listed in Table 3 from Place X.
Table 3 A
B
Compass Whole-circle Reduced
Place
point bearing bearing
W E
X
A

B C

C D
S
D Figure 16

3.11
After learning how to work out the actual distance between two places on a map and
find out directions between places, we can apply（應用）these skills to locate a place.
15
Refer to Figure 17 which shows
a 1:5,000 map of Ocean Park and
the following clues（提示）, find out
what places X and Y are.

1 The whole-circle bearing of Place

X from the electricity substation
(228134) is 339°. The actual
direct distance between the two
places is 270 m. 14

Place X is .

2 The reduced bearing of Place Y

from the water tank (221141)
is N62°E. The actual direct
distance between the two places
is 165 m.

Place Y is .
13
22 23
Figure 17

39
 4 How can we find the area of an object on
a map?

Do you know how large

We can calculate its
Tarzan’s Treehouse is?
area on a map!

Figure 1 How can we figure out（找出）the area of Tarzan’s Treehouse?

We have learned how to measure actual distance on a map in Unit 3. On maps, we can
apply the skills to calculate the areas of the objects as well.

Objects on the maps are shown in different shapes. Some of the objects are regular
（規則）in shape, such as buildings. Some of them are irregular（不規則）in shape, such
as islands and lakes.

In the following sections, we are going to learn how to measure and calculate the
actual area of both regular and irregular objects on a map.

How can we work out the actual area of a regular object

on a map?
How can we find the actual area of the building with rectangular shape（矩形）on the
1:5,000 map below? Follow these steps.

1 Measure the length of the rectangular

Scale: 1 cm to 50 m
building on the map. The length is 4 cm.

Building A

0 1 2 3 4 5
cm

40
 How can we find the area of an object on a map? 4

2 Measure the width of the rectangular

3
building on the map. The width is 2 cm. Scale: 1 cm to 50 m

2
Building A

1
cm
0
3 Refer to the scale of the map. Change the
Scale: 1 cm to 50 m
length and width of the rectangular building
on the map into actual ones.
Width
• The actual length of the building Building A = 2 cm
= 50 m × 4 = 200 m
• The actual width of the building Length = 4 cm
= 50 m × 2 = 100 m

4 The actual area of the rectangular building

= Actual length of the building × Actual width of the building
= 200 m × 100 m = 20,000 m2

How can we calculate the areas of other regular

shapes?
In mathematics class, we have learned about the formulas of calculating the area of
different regular shapes. Do you remember them?

Area of a triangle Area of a circle

= πr2
Base × Height Radius (r)
= (Note: π = 3.14)
2
Height

Base

Area of a parallelogram Upper base (a) Area of a trapezium

（平行四邊形） （梯形）
Height
= Base × Height Height (a + b) × Height
=
2

Base
Lower base (b)

41
 4 How can we find the area of an object on a map?

4.1
Refer to Figure 2 and answer the following questions.

Post office
Swimming
pool

Church

Restaurant
0 20 m

Figure 2

1 Work out the actual areas of the following buildings step by step.

a Restaurant

Actual length = m Actual area = m2

Actual width = m

b Swimming pool

Actual base = m Actual area = m2

Actual height = m

c Church

Actual base = m Actual area = m2

Actual height = m

2 Find out the actual area of the post office. Show your calculations. (Hint: Divide the
building into a rectangle and a trapezium.)

42
 How can we find the area of an object on a map? 4

How can we work out the actual area of an irregular

object on a map?
Some objects on the maps are irregular in shape. We can make use of a network（網絡）
of 0.5 cm × 0.5 cm squares to find the actual areas of these objects.

Follow the steps below to work out the actual area of a pond.

1 Draw a network of 0.5 cm × 0.5 cm 0.5 cm

43
squares over the grid square of the 0.5 cm

pond (0842).

Scale :
0 50 m
42
08 09

2 Count（點算）the number of complete 43

squares over the pond. There are 15
complete squares.
8 12

5 9 13 15

1 3 6 10 14

2 4 7 11

Scale :
0 50 m
42
08 09

3 Some squares are only partly occupied 43

（佔用）by the pond. Count the number

of these incomplete squares over the 20 19 18 17

22 21 16 15
pond. There are 24 incomplete squares.
1 24 23 14

2 12 13

3 10 11

4 5 6 7 8 9

Scale :
0 50 m
42
08 09

43
 4 How can we find the area of an object on a map?

4 Add up for the total number of squares Number of

incomplete
occupied. squares

5 Work out the actual area represented by a

24 = 27 squares
0.5 cm × 0.5 cm square: 15 +
2
(50 m × 0.5) × (50 m × 0.5) = 625 m2
Number of Two incomplete squares are
6 Calculate the actual total area of the pond: complete counted as one complete
squares square. Therefore, we divide
625 m2 × 27 = 16,875 m2 the number of incomplete
squares by 2

Measuring an irregular area

How can we measure area on Google Maps?

To measure a building on Google Maps, right-click on
the map at your starting point and choose the Measure
distance option. Add points around the location’s
boundary. Once you close the shape by clicking on the
starting point, the Google Maps area calculator will
automatically process the area of your shape.

4.2
Refer to Figure 3 and answer the following questions.

1 Make use of a network of 0.5 cm

N
× 0.5 cm squares to calculate the
actual areas of following features.

a Farmland

b Pond

2 How many times（倍）is the area

of the farmland to the pond?
0 50 m

Figure 3

44
 How can we find the area of an object on a map? 4

4.3
Refer to Figure 4 which shows a 1:5,000 map of Ngau Tau Kok. Make use of a network
of 0.5 cm × 0.5 cm squares to calculate the actual areas of the following features.

r k
Pa
ad
ei Ro
C h oi H
Choi Wing Road
Park
44

Choi Ha Estate

Jordan Valley
Playground

43

Jordan Valley
Swimming Pool

Jordan Valley
Ngau Playground
Tau Kok
Park

42
65 66 67

Figure 4
1 Choi Hei Road Park (in grid squares 6543 and 6544)

2 Choi Wing Road Park (in grid squares 6643, 6644 and 6744)

3 Jordan Valley Playground (in grid squares 6543, 6642, 6643, 6742 and 6743)

4 Jordan Valley Swimming Pool (in grid square 6642)

45
 5 How can we locate places using latitudes
and longitudes?

My father is going to Seoul

( 首爾 ) next week. How We can use latitude
can we find the location of and longitude!
the city on a map?

Figure 1 How can we locate a city on a map?

We have learned using grid references, distance and direction to locate places on maps
in Units 2 and 3. How can we locate places on the earth or a small-scale map?

What are lines of latitude and longitude?

Lines of latitude and longitude are imaginary lines on the earth’s surface. They are
drawn according to the angles measured from the centre of the earth (Figures 2 and 3).
They form a grid system that helps us locate places on the earth’s surface accurately.

90°N 90°N
80°N
70°N
60°N
40°

50°N 0°
E

40°N Axis
Centre of 30°N
the earth 20°N Centre of
70° 10°N the earth
30° 0°
10°S 0°
20°S 40°
West East
30°S
40°S
50°S
60°S
70°S
80°S
90°S 90°S

Figure 2 How lines of latitude are drawn Figure 3 How lines of longitude are drawn
on the earth on the earth

46
 How can we locate places using latitudes and longitudes? 5

1 Lines of latitude
Lines of latitude circle the earth in an east–west direction (Figure 4). Their lengths are
different. The Equator（赤道）is the longest line of latitude which divides the earth into
two halves. It is set as 0°. To the north of the Equator is the Northern Hemisphere（北半
球）, and to the south of the Equator is the Southern Hemisphere（南半球）.

Other lines of latitude are measured in degrees from the Equator to the North Pole
（北極）(90°N) and the South Pole（南極）(90°S).
North Pole
90°N
1°
2 N Arctic Circle
66 —

To the north of the Equator:

Northern Hemisphere
1°
2 N Tropic of Cancer
23 —

0° Equator

1°
2 S Tropic of Capricorn
23 —
To the south of the Equator:
Southern Hemisphere

1°
2 S Antarctic Circle
66 —
90°S
South Pole

Figure 4 Important lines of latitude

2 Lines of longitude
Lines of longitude run from the North Pole to the South Pole (Figure 5 on p. 48). Their
lengths are the same. The line of longitude passing through the Royal Observatory
Greenwich（格林尼治天文台）in London（倫敦）is called the Prime Meridian（本初子午
線）(Figure 6 on p. 48). It is set as 0°.
Other lines of longitude are measured in degrees from the Prime Meridian to the
east and the west. This divides the earth into the Eastern Hemisphere（東半球）and
Western Hemisphere（西半球）.

The lines of longitude extend from 0° to 180°E and 180°W. In fact 180°E and 180°W
are the same line. This line is known as the International Date Line（國際日期變更線）.

We can locate any place on the earth by referring to lines of latitude and longitude.
For example, Hong Kong is located at 22°N 114°E.

47
 5 How can we locate places using latitudes and longitudes?

International Date Line

150°W
180°
120°W

120° 150°E
To the west of the North
Prime Meridian: 90°W Pole
Western Hemisphere

30° 120°E

60°W

90°E
To the east of the
30°W Prime Meridian:
Eastern Hemisphere
60°E
0° 30°E
Prime Meridian

Figure 5 Lines of longitude on the earth

Figure 6 The Prime Meridian

Prime Meridian
passing through the Royal
Observatory Greenwich, London

How can we read latitude and longitude?

Reading latitude and longitude is similar to reading eastings and
northings of grid references. However, they are in the opposite. Reading latitude
and longitude
12 49°E 50°E 51°E

Location A is at
23°N
Location B is at
075 115 22°N 50°E
A 22°N
Easting Northing B Latitude Longitude

11 21°N
07 08
Figure 7a Easting first, then northing Figure 7b Latitude first, then longitude

48
 How can we locate places using latitudes and longitudes? 5

5.1
Do you still remember how to describe the location of a place by using grid references?
You may apply the same skills to locate the cities shown in Figure 8 by using latitude and
longitude. Identify the cities in Table 1.

Longitudes
0° 40°E 80°E 120°E 160°E 180° 160°W 120°W 80°W 40°W

60°N
N

Rome Vancouver 40°N

Seoul
Shanghai
20°N
Latitudes

0°

Lima
20°S

Sydney

40°S

60°S
0 2,600 km

Figure 8

Table 1

City Latitude Longitude

1 31°N 121°E

2 38°N 127°E

3 42°N 12°E

4 49°N 123°W

5 34°S 151°E

6 12°S 77°W

7 30°N 31°E

49
 5 How can we locate places using latitudes and longitudes?

3 How can we use an atlas index to locate places?

At the back of your atlas（地圖
Page
集）is an index（索引） (Figure 9). reference Latitude:
The place we are looking up （參考頁碼） 51°30’N
This is a list showing places in
alphabetical order（順英文字
Grid code Longitude:
母次序排列）. We can find the （圖網編碼） 0°10’W

latitude and longitude of a place

Figure 9 Index of an atlas
easily by using the index.

The index also shows the

page reference of a place. We
can turn to the relevant page
and locate the place with the
grid code, latitude and longitude
given in the index.

Figure 10 We can locate a place with the information given in

the index

Degrees, minutes and seconds

When we use latitude and longitude to describe the location of a place, we usually use
‘degrees’(°) as a unit. If we want to describe the location more accurately, we will also
use ‘minutes’（分）(’) and ‘seconds’（秒）(”) as measurement units (Figure 11).
Latitude Longitude

26° 52’ 18”N 107° 02’ 59”E Figure 11 An example of using degrees,
minutes and seconds as measurement
Degree Minute Second units in latitude and longitude

One degree is subdivided into 60 minutes, while one minute can be further divided
into 60 seconds.

50
 How can we locate places using latitudes and longitudes? 5

5.2
Refer to Figure 12 and answer the following questions.

A
B
C D
23 —°
1
2 N

0°

E
1°
F 23 —
2 S

0 2,600 km

Figure 12
Look up the index of your atlas.

1 Find the latitudes and longitudes of the cities listed in Table 2. Write your answers in
the second and third columns.
Table 2

City Latitude Longitude Location on Figure 12

Beijing, China

Brisbane, Australia

Los Angeles, USA

Paris, France

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Tokyo, Japan

2 Match the cities in Table 2 with Figure 12. Write down your answers in the fourth
column in the table.

3 In which hemispheres are most of the cities in Table 2 located? Circle the correct
answers below.
In the ( Northern / Southern ) Hemisphere and the ( Eastern / Western ) Hemisphere

51
 5 How can we locate places using latitudes and longitudes?

What are time zones?

Based on the longitudinal system, the earth is divided into different time zones（時區）.

The earth rotates once every day. This means that the earth turns 360° every 24
hours. For each hour, it turns 15°. The world is then divided into 24 time zones. Each
time zone covers about 15° of longitude.

The Prime Meridian lies at the centre of the first time zone [Greenwich Mean Time
（格林尼治平均時）, GMT]. All places to the west of this time zone are one or more
hours behind GMT (slower). Places to the east are one or more hours ahead of GMT
(faster) (Figure 13).

However, the boundary of some time zones does not exactly follow the lines of
longitude. This is to avoid having many time zones in one country. For example, China
extends from 73°E to 135°E, but it has only one time zone (Figure 13).

Tokyo: GMT +9 (9 pm)

Sydney: GMT +10 (10 pm)

New York: Hong Kong:

GMT
GMT –5 (7 am) GMT +8 (8 pm)

Slow Fast
12 Midnight 2 AM 4 AM 6 AM 8 AM 10 AM 12 Noon 2 PM 4 PM 6 PM 8 PM 10 PM 12 Midnight

–12 –11 –10 –9 –8 –7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10 +11 +12

AM –4 PM
–3
–5 +10
y –9 0 +7 +11 +12
+2
n da –8 0 +1 +9 y
Su +3
+5 da
–7 –6
–4
0 on
–10 London +4 M
–5 –3.5 +1 +2 +6 +10
N Vancouver
International Date Line

International Date Line

+4 +5 +9
New York +2 +8 Tokyo
+3.5 +4.5 China
+5 +6
+3 +6.5 Hong Kong
–5 +4 +5.5
0 +1 +2 +7
+6 Thailand
Philippines
–5 +3
–12
–4
+13 +14 Peru
Prime Meridian

–11 +3
+9.5
+8 +10 +13
–3
Sydney
0 2,600 km New
Zealand
One day behind One day ahead

Zone behind or ahead of GMT –10/+10 Hour behind or ahead of GMT

Half hour zone The time when it is 12 noon
at Greenwich
International boundary

Figure 13 World time zones Time zones

52
 How can we locate places using latitudes and longitudes? 5

5.3
Refer to Figure 13 and your atlas/Google Maps. Answer the following questions.

1 In which time zone are the following countries located? Write the answers in Table 3.
The first one has been done for you as an example.
Table 3

Country Time zone Country Time zone

a China GMT +8 c Peru（秘魯）

b New Zealand d Thailand

2 In which time zone does the Prime Meridian lie in?

3 On 12 August 2021, an earthquake（地震）occurred in the Philippines at 1:46 a.m.

local time. What were the dates and time of the following cities at that moment?

a Tokyo At on 12 August 2021

b London At

c New York At

d Sydney At

Why is the International Date Line not a straight line?

The International Date Line generally 165°E 180° 165°W 150°W
N
runs from North Pole to South Pole.
Pacific Ocean
But it zigzags around political borders
Kiribati
such as eastern Russia（俄羅斯）and 0°

Alaska’s（阿拉斯加）Aleutian Islands
Tuvalu
（阿留申羣島）. Kiribati
Solomon
In the Pacific, the island country Islands
Samoa
of Kiribati（基里巴地）adjusted the
International Date Line in 1995 Vanuatu
0 700 km
Fiji
(Figure 14). In this way, the country is
no longer divided by the date line. The International Date Line Kiribati
whole country is now on the same day
Figure 14 The International Date Line to date
at the same time.

53
 Integrated test
Test 1
A Multiple-choice questions (2 marks each, total 16 marks)
1 What does the conventional sign 6 Which of the following feature(s) is/are
represent on a 1:5,000 map? shown in blue on a 1:20,000 map?
A A temple 1 Pond
B A hospital 2 Playground
C A declared monument 3 Navigation beacon
D Government offices A 1 only
B 1 and 3 only
Refer to Figure 1 and answer Questions 2 to 5.
C 2 and 3 only
95 N
D 1, 2 and 3
94
7 Which of the following matches about lines
of latitude is/are correct?
93

1 Arctic Circle 66°N

92
43 44 45 46 47

Figure 1 2 Tropic of Capricorn 23 2 °N

1

2 Where can we find the clinic?

3 South Pole 90°S
A 4394
B 4493
A 1 only
C 4594
B 2 only
D 4692
C 1 and 3 only
3 Where can we find the post office? D 2 and 3 only
A 4594
8 Refer to Figure 2.
B 4595
C 4692
60°N
D 4794

4 Which of the following features can be

found in grid square 4394?
A Library C Mosque United
Kingdom
B Museum D Market
54°N

5 Which of the following features can be

found to the south of the swimming pool? Birmingham
A Fire station
B Police station
C Sports ground
48°N
D Community centre 6°W 0° 6°E

Figure 2

54
 Which of the following descriptions about the United Kingdom is correct?
A It spreads over 6° of longitude.
B It is located near the Tropic of Cancer.
C Birmingham is at the south-east of the country.
D The International Date Line passes through the country.

B Structured questions (40 marks)

1 Refer to Figure 3 and answer the questions on pp. 55–6.

58
Central Park Children’s
playground

City hall

Hospital

Shopping
mall

Swimming
pool

Library
57
Railway
terminus

Bank

Church

Museum

Railway

Cycling track

Scale: 1:5,000
56

77 78 79
Figure 3

a Find out the four-figure grid references of the features in Table 1. (3 marks)

Table 1

Feature Four-figure grid reference

Museum

City hall

Hospital

55
 b Find out the six-figure grid references of the features in Table 2. (3 marks)

Table 2

Feature Six-figure grid reference

Bank

Library

Children’s playground

c Find the directions between the places below. (3 marks)

i The compass point of the church (7956) from the museum
ii The whole-circle bearing of the bank from the library
iii The reduced bearing of the hospital from the children’s playground

d What is the actual length of the railway? Show your calculations. (2 marks)

e Work out the actual length of the cycling track. Show your calculations. (2 marks)

f Calculate the actual area of the Central Park in grid squares 7757 and 7857. (2 marks)

2 Refer to Figure 4 which shows the locations of some cities on the world map. Answer the
questions on p. 57. Up to 90°N
(North Pole)
Eastern Hemisphere Western Hemisphere
0° 40°E 80°E 120°E 160°E 180° 160°W 120°W 80°W 40°W
1°
Arctic Circle 66 —
2 N

60°N
Moscow
Hemisphere

N
Northern

Paris
Vienna
X 40°N
Seoul New York
Chongqing
W 1°
23 —
Tropic of Cancer 2 N

20°N

0°
Y
Brasilia
20°S
Hemisphere

Z Rio de Janeiro
Southern

1°
23 —
2 S
Cape Town
Melbourne
40°S
0 2,800 km

Down to 90°S
(South Pole)
Figure 4

56
a Name lines W, X, Y and Z. (4 marks)

W Y

X Z

b i Refer to Figure 4. Identify cities 1, 2 and 3 in the first column of Table 1. (3 marks)

ii With the help of an atlas/Google Maps, find the latitudes and longitudes of the cities in
Table 3. (3 marks)
Table 3

City Latitude and longitude

Cape Town

1 15°46’S 47°47’W

2 55°34’N 37°23’E

3 29°33’N 106°32’E

New York

Melbourne

c i In which hemispheres are the cities located? Tick ‘✓’ the appropriate columns in Table 2.
The first one has been done for you as an example. (10 marks)

ii In the last column of Table 4, write down the names of the countries to which the cities
belong. (Hint: Refer to an atlas/Google Maps if necessary.) (5 marks)
Table 4

Northern Southern Eastern Western

City Country
Hemisphere Hemisphere Hemisphere Hemisphere

Cape Town ✓ ✓

New York

Melbourne Australia

57
 Test 2
Figure 5 is a 1:5,000 map showing the area near Tong Fuk, Lantau Island.
16

15

14

13
72 73 74 75
Figure 5

A Multiple-choice questions (2 marks each, total 20 marks)

Refer to Figure 5 and answer Questions 1 to 10.

1 Which of the following is the statement 2 Which of the following features is located
scale of the map shown in Figure 5? at 724133?
A 1 cm to 5 m A Pavilion
B 1 cm to 50 m B Temple
C 1 cm to 500 m C Spot height 10.5
D 1 cm to 5,000 m D Electricity substation

58
3 Which of the following features are found 8 In which grid square can Building complex
in grid square 7214? X shown in Figure 6 be found?
1 Footpath
2 Power line
Building complex X
3 Artificial slope
A 1 and 2 only
B 1 and 3 only
C 2 and 3 only
D 1, 2 and 3

4 What is the reduced bearing of the electricity

substation (747148) from the bus terminus
(742145)?
A S37°E
B S43°W
C N33°W
D N57°E

5 Which of the following features can be

found at 73° of the spot height 9.9
at 734137?
1 Toilet
Figure 6
2 Car park
3 Pavilion A 7213 C 7315
A 3 only B 7214 D 7415
B 1 and 2 only
9 Which of the following features can be
C 1 and 3 only
found along the stream flowing from
D 2 and 3 only
728159 to 744136?
6 What is the actual length of South Lantau 1 Fence
Road running between spot height 23.2 2 Cultivation
(722137) and spot height 11.6 (748149)? 3 Settlement
A 775 m A 1 and 2 only C 2 and 3 only
B 955 m B 1 and 3 only D 1, 2 and 3
C 1,100 m
10 Which of the following is the map evidence
D 1,250 m
showing that Tong Fuk is located in a
7 What is the actual area of the sports rural area?
ground in grid squares 7315 and 7415? 1 Presence of temple (738148)
A 980 m2 2 Presence of pavilion (748149)
B 1,160 m2 3 Presence of cultivation (e.g. 7414)
C 1,700 m2 A 3 only C 1 and 3 only
D 2,170 m2 B 1 and 2 only D 2 and 3 only

59
 B Structured questions (21 marks)
Refer to Figure 5 on p. 58 and answer the following questions.

1 Find out the grid references of the features in Table 6. (4 marks)

Table 6

Feature Four-figure grid reference Feature Six-figure grid reference

Car park Sports ground

Spot height 4.0 Spot height 49.0

2 Work out the actual length of Ma Po Ping Road running between spot height 64.4 (720156)
and spot height 50.4 (725155). Show your calculations. (2 marks)

3 Find the directions between the places in Table 7. (6 marks)

Table 7

Compass point Whole-circle bearing Reduced bearing

a For the pavilion
(748141) from
the primary school
(742149)

b For the spot

height 81.7
(732157) from the
park (744148)

4 Complete Table 8 to show the favourable factors for developing farming to the south of the
South Lantau Road. Quote map evidence to support your answers. (9 marks)
Table 8

Favourable factor Map evidence

Availability of land for Area along the coast is low-lying/The height

farming of land is below metres

Supply of water There is a nearby

Availability of l There are nearby

Convenient . Farm produce There is a providing

can be transported to easily links to other areas

60
Test 3
Figure 7 shows a 1:20,000 map of Fanling–Sheung Shui.

93

92

91

90

05 06 07
Scale: 1:20,000

Figure 7

61
 A Multiple-choice questions (2 marks each, total 16 marks)
Refer to Figure 7 on p. 61 and answer Questions 1 to 8.

1 Which of the following features are found 5 Which of the following places (in grid
in grid square 0589? square 0590) can be found at 32° of the
1 Temple spot height 105 (052895)?
2 Fire station A Clinic C Post office
3 Sports ground B Temple D Fire station
A 1 and 2 only
6 Oscar is standing at Location X (in grid
B 1 and 3 only
square 0590) and taking the photograph
C 2 and 3 only
shown in Figure 8. Which direction by
D 1, 2 and 3
compass points is the camera facing?
2 Which of the following matches is/are
correct?

Place Grid square

1 Artificial slope 0489

2 Sunningdale Garden 0491

Wo Hop Shek San

3 0689
Tsuen

A 2 only
B 1 and 2 only
C 1 and 3 only Figure 8
D 2 and 3 only
A North-east C North-west
3 What is the compass point of Tai Ping B South-east D South-west
Estate (043907) from Fanling Town Centre
7 What is the actual length of the railway
(057901)?
running between Sheung Shui Station
A North-west
(0491) and Fanling Station (0590)?
B South-west
A 750 m C 1,280 m
C South-east
B 920 m D 2,740 m
D North-east
8 Which of the following places is/are within
4 What is the reduced bearing of the police
0.5-km distance from Fanling Station
station at 058904 from North District
(0590)?
Hospital at 041907?
1 Fanling Garden (0590)
A N18°E
2 Wu Tip Shan Village (0589)
B S82°E
3 Wong Kong Shan (0689)
C N82°W
A 1 only C 1 and 2 only
D S12°W
B 3 only D 2 and 3 only

62
B Structured questions (18 marks)
Refer to Figure 7 on p. 61 and answer the following questions.

1 a Name the type of scale shown on the map. (1 mark)

b Change the scale into other types. (2 marks)

2 Find out the grid references of the features in Table 9. (2 marks)

Table 9

Feature Four-figure grid reference Feature Six-figure grid reference

Trigonometric
Luen Wo Hui
station 164

3 Find the directions between the places below. (2 marks)

a The whole-circle bearing of spot height 83 (046895) from spot height 52 (048901)

b The reduced bearing of the clinic (046915) in Shek Wu Hui from spot height 139 (056927)

4 What is the actual length of the section of the Ng Tung River flowing from 040926 to 060918?
Show your calculations. (2 marks)

5 What is the actual area of Shek Wu Hui in grid square 0491 (the area bounded by the blue
dotted-line)? Show your calculations. (3 marks)

6 Certain areas in Fanling–Sheung Shui have a long history of development.

Quote map evidence to support the statement above. (6 marks)
There are many d in the area, e.g. (give
TWO examples) in grid square and
in grid square .

63
 Test 4
Figure 9 is a 1:5,000 map showing the area of Mong Kok.

36

35
NATH
AN RO
AD

34

33

45 46 47 48
Scale: 1:5,000

Figure 9

64
A Multiple-choice questions (2 marks each, total 8 marks)
Refer to Figure 9 and answer Questions 1 to 4.

1 In which grid square can Mong Kok East 3 Which of the following features is located
Station be found? at 450345?
A 4634 C 4734 A Clinic
B 4635 D 4834 B Hospital
C Post office
2 Which of the following features are found
D Sports ground
in grid square 4634?
1 MTR access 4 Which of the following features can be
2 Commercial centre found at N48°E of the cinema at 474347?
3 Green minibus terminus A Hotel
A 1 and 2 only B Park
B 1 and 3 only C Church
C 2 and 3 only D Electricity substation
D 1, 2 and 3

B Structured questions (15 marks)

Refer to Figure 9 and answer the questions on pp. 65–6.

1 What is the actual length of Bute Street running between spot height 4.9 (454341) and spot
height 6.4 (468343)? Show your calculations. (2 marks)

2 Make use of a network of 0.5 cm × 0.5 cm squares to calculate the actual area of MOKO
phases I and II. (2 marks)

3 A minibus is driving at an average speed of 395 m/min. Calculate the time required for the
minibus to travel between spot height 5.4 (458356) and spot height 5.2 (463330) along Nathan
Road. Show your calculations. (3 marks)

4 Find the directions between the places below. (3 marks)

a The compass point of the sports ground (478361) from the toilet (469356)

b The reduced bearing of the pavilion (455339) from the church (463341)

c The whole-circle bearing of the park (475338) from the cinema (474347)

65
 5 Complete Table 10 to show the problems that residents live in Place X (466334) may face. Give
map evidence to support your answers. (4 marks)
Table 10

Problem Map evidence

Narrow streets, e.g. the width of Fife Street is
m only

Lack of o space (give ONE example) is

not present within 200-m distance from Place X

Test 5
Figure 10 on p. 67 shows a 1:20,000 map of Tai Po.

A Multiple-choice questions (2 marks each, total 8 marks)

Refer to Figure 10 and answer Questions 1 to 4.

1 Which of the following features is located 3 What is the actual direct distance between
at 096849? Lookout (105856) and the post office near
A Tai Po Market Sun Hing Garden (092858)?
B Island House A 764 m C 1,360 m
C Waterfront Park B 986 m D 2,530 m
D Kwong Fuk Estate
4 Which of the following features can
2 In which direction is Nethersole Hospital be found at 212° of Tai Po Hospital at
(093863) from the police station (090855)? 092866?
A NE C SW A Temple C Post office
B SE D NW B Church D Police station

B Structured questions (15 marks)

Refer to Figure 10 and answer the questions on pp. 66 and 68.

1 Find out the grid references of the features in Table 11. (4 marks)

Table 11

Feature Four-figure grid reference Feature Six-figure grid reference

Trigonometric
Railway station
station 282

Sewage Signal station in

Treatment Tai Po Industrial
Works Estate

66
86

85

84

83

09 10 11 Scale: 1:20,000

Figure 10

67
 2 Find the directions between the places below. (3 marks)

a The compass point of Lookout (105856) from Lookout Tower (097854)

b The whole-circle bearing of the clinic (085853) from the church (089861)

c The reduced bearing of Tai Po Hospital (092866) from the fire station (108867)

2 Find out the actual area of Golf Course in grid squares 1185 and 1186. Show your calculations.
(2 marks)

3 Is there any flood control measure in Tai Po? Give map evidence to support your answer.
(2 marks)

4 Complete Table 12 to show ONE advantage of the location of Fu Shin Estate (0985) and Tai Po
Industrial Estate (north of northing 85). Give map evidence to support your answers. (4 marks)
Table 12

Advantage Map evidence

Fu Shin
Estate

Tai Po
Industrial
Estate

68