BJC SOCIAL STUDIES TUTORIALS

Tutor: Ms. LaShanda WildgooseEmail: info@thestudentshed.com

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Components of a Map

• Title, which tells the reader important information about what the map is about

• Legend or Key that show the meanings of symbols

• Symbols are something that are used to represent an object in a map. It may either be a shape or a color.

• Compass showing north to determine the orientation of the map

Symbols

• The most common symbols used show airports, roads, towns, mountains

• A sample legend from a map of Jamaica

Directions

• Four cardinal points: North, South, East, West• East and West are right angles from North to

South• The cardinal points associate with the degrees of

the rotation of a circle• North (N)- 0⁰ or 360⁰

• East (E)- 90⁰

• South (S)- 180⁰

• West (W-)270⁰

Directions

• The compass also has intercardinal points located halfway between the cardinal points

• Northeast (NE), 45°• Southeast (SE), 135°• Southwest (SW), 225°• Northwest (NW), 315°

Directions

• Cardinal points are used for persons to find the location of places are provided on maps

• Bearings is the direction of travel taken to reach a particular destination

• Bearings change and adjust as you travel towards your destination

Landforms

• Archipelago -is a group or chain of islands clustered together in a sea or ocean; e.g The Bahamas

• Bay- a body of water partly enclosed by land; e.g Baffin bay

• Cape - a pointed piece of land that sticks out into a sea, ocean, lake, or river; e.g Cape of Good Hope

• Continent- large, continuous, masses of land, ideally separated by expanses of water; e.gAsia, Africa, North America,

Landforms (cont’d)

• Desert- a terrain with low amounts if rainfall, very dry area; e.g Sahara

• Gulf-part of the ocean partially surrounded by land; e.g Gulf of Mexico

• Island- land completely surrounded by water; e.g Cuba

• Isthmus- a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land masses; e.g

Landforms (cont’d)

• Lake- large body of water surrounded on both sides by a land

• Mountain- very tall high natural place on earth; e.g. Appalachian

• Ocean- a large body of salt water that surrounds a continent; e.g Atlantic Ocean

• Peninsula- land surrounded by water on three sides; e.g Florida Peninsula

Landform (cont’d)

• River- a large flowing body of water that usually empties into a sea or ocean; e.gVictoria river

• Sea- a large body of salty water that is usually connected to an ocean; e.g Mediterranean

• Strait- a straight narrow body of water that connect to large bodies of water; e.g Gibraltar

What to expect in the next lesson?

- Map Scales/ Latitude and Longitude

For extra practice, download past papers from www.TheStudentShed.com