The equator is located at zero degrees latitude; which two hemispheres does it separate?

The equator is located at zero degrees latitude; which two hemispheres does it separate?

• A. Western and Eastern
• B. Northern and Southern
• C. Upper and Lower
• D. All of the above

Answer: (B)

The equator is a circle around the middle of the Earth at zero degrees latitude. Latitude measures distance north or south from this line, so anything north of the equator is in the Northern Hemisphere and anything south is in the Southern Hemisphere. The Western and Eastern hemispheres are defined by longitude (the Prime Meridian), not by the equator, so that option doesn’t fit. Upper and Lower aren’t standard geographic terms for hemispheres. So the equator separates the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere.

The equator is a circle around the middle of the Earth at zero degrees latitude. Latitude measures distance north or south from this line, so anything north of the equator is in the Northern Hemisphere and anything south is in the Southern Hemisphere. The Western and Eastern hemispheres are defined by longitude (the Prime Meridian), not by the equator, so that option doesn’t fit. Upper and Lower aren’t standard geographic terms for hemispheres. So the equator separates the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere.