Locational Knowledge of the World — Revision notes

Continent

A huge area of land, of which there are seven on Earth

Ocean

A vast area of salt water between the continents

Scale

Tells you how much the real world has been shrunk to fit on a map

Scale bar

A short bar on a map that stands for a real distance, such as a thousand kilometres

Small-scale map

A map that shrinks a huge area onto the page, showing more ground but far less detail

Political map

A map showing the borders between countries, usually with each country in its own colour

Physical map

A map showing the land itself, including mountains, rivers and how high the ground is

Latitude

Imaginary lines running around the Earth from side to side, measured in degrees

Equator

The most important line of latitude, running around the middle of the Earth

Northern Hemisphere

The half of the Earth north of the Equator

Southern Hemisphere

The half of the Earth south of the Equator

Tropics

The Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, which mark out the hot zone either side of the Equator

CLOCC

A five-letter method for describing where a place is, using continent, latitude, ocean or sea, countries or cities nearby, and compass directions

What this lesson covers

How well do you know each one? Be honest: red means go back over it.

• Name the seven continents and five oceans, and identify the largest and smallestNot yetSort ofGot it
• Explain what map scale shows and why a small-scale map has less detailNot yetSort ofGot it
• Compare political maps and physical maps and the features each one showsNot yetSort ofGot it
• Describe how latitude and the Equator divide the Earth into two hemispheresNot yetSort ofGot it
• Describe the location of a place using the five steps of CLOCCNot yetSort ofGot it
• Identify the UK's four countries and capitals, and where the UK sits in EuropeNot yetSort ofGot it

Test yourself

Cover the answer, say it out loud, then check the full quiz on the lesson page.

• True or false... a small-scale map shows a large area?
• Roughly how many countries are there in Europe?
• Which continent is Russia part of?

Topic quiz

15 questions on this topic only — not mixed with anything else, one at a time.

Spelling challenge

Read the definition, then type the correct spelling of the term. Uses the same terms as above.