A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the cardinal directions, which are north, east, south, and west; it also shows their intermediate points. It is used to show people the directions and helps them know the direction of something. A latitude is an imaginary line that circles the Earth running east and west, similarly a longitude is an imaginary line that circles the Earth running north and south. These lines of longitude and latitude are very useful tools that can help us coordinate something, so I think I like the lines of longitude and latitude over the compass rose.
Firstly, lines of longitude and latitude can help us find the absolute location of something or somewhere. One benefit of the lines that is different from the compass rose, is that it shows the position of something, the compass rose can only show direction and not location. For example, if you want to go to a store, if you look at a compass rose, you can only know the store’s direction but not its location. To find the exact location of something, you just need to see the numbers that are written beside the lines of longitude and latitude. According to these numbers, you can find your or something’s absolute position. So, these lines can help you know something’s exact location.
Secondly, lines of longitude and latitude can help measure the distance from one place to another. Like I previously said, there are numbers beside the lines of longitude and latitude, to find the distance from one place to another, just find the difference between the numbers of both sides. Continuing the example from the previous paragraph, if you want to go to the store and know its location, you need to know the distance between where you are and the store, you need to decide whether to use a car or just walk. If the store is close, you can walk, but if the store is faraway, you can use a car. On the other hand, a compass rose cannot measure distance like the lines of longitude and latitude. So, lines of longitude and latitude can measure distance.
Last but not least, lines of longitude and latitude can help us find hot and cold places on the Earth. The places that have the biggest longitude are the coldest places on Earth, Antarctica and the Arctic. But the places that are close to the equator are warm and hot. But unfortunately, you cannot accurately find heat zones, using lines of latitude. For example, if you want to go to a tropical place you can use the lines of longitude to locate a place that is close to the equator, since places close to the equator are tropical. If you want to go somewhere cold, you just need to find a place that is faraway from the equator. So, lines of longitude can locate warm places and cold places.
In conclusion, the two tools of the compass rose and the lines of longitude and latitude can both help us on maps. But there is a difference. I like the lines of longitude and latitude better because they can help locate our exact position, measure distance, and also find hot and cold places on the Earth. The lines of longitude and latitude can help us when we are traveling and don’t have GPS to help us locate things. These lines can also help us when we are looking at a map or in a test or whenever you feel like going somewhere. Overall, lines of longitude and latitude can help us in many ways.
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