Position

- Africa lies with Latitude 37°N and 35°S and Longitude 52°E and 17°W.
- it borders the Indian OCean to the East and the Atlantic ocean to the West.
- It borders also the Mediterranean sea to the North and the Red Sea to the NorthEast.

Size

- Africa is the second largest continent in the world.
- Asia is the largest continent.
- Australia and New Zealand are the smallest

Shape

- Africa is wide to the North and narrower to the South.
- It has a regular coastline.

Position and Shape of Africa - Image Courtesy

- Algeria is the largest country in Africa
- Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa

Latitudes

- Latitudes are imaginary lines that run from East to West on a map
- Equator is the main latitude
- Latitudes are not of the same length
- Latitudes are parallel.

Longitudes

- They are imaginary lines that run from North pole to South pole.
- The Prime meridian is the main longitude.
- All longitudes are of the same length.
- A longitude is used to calculate time.

Latitudes and Longitudes - Image Courtesy

- Rotation is the movement of the Earth on its own axis

Time Calculation

- The Earth rotates 360° in 24 hours which is equal to 1 day.
- The Earth rotates from West to East on its own axis
- When calculating the time of a location, we add if a place is to the East and subtract if the place is to the West.

Effects Of Rotation Of The Earth On Time

1. It causes day and night
2. It causes a difference in time in different parts of the world
3. It causes rise and fall of tides

Effects of revolution of the Earth

- Revolution is the movement of the Earth round the sun.
- One complete revolution takes 365¼ days.
- Revolution causes 4 seasons.

• Spring
• Autumn
• Winter
• Summer

Seasons Caused by Revolution of the Earth - Image Courtesy

- It also influences the length of day and night hours.
- It influences the position of the overhead sun in certain months.

- A map is a representation of part or the whole of the Earth's surface on a piece of paper

Elements of a map

- These are qualities that a good map should have.
- They include:

1. Title - It shows the are and type of information contained on the map
2. Key - It contains the symbols and explains what they stand for on the map
3. Scale - It is the relation of the distance on the ground and the distance covered on the map
4. Compass - Used to tell direction on a map
5. Frame - It is drawn around a map to show the extent of the are covered by the map
6. Symbols - They are used to represent certain features on the map E.g Hills, Rivers