As I understand it (and I am not an expert by any means) the equator is a hypothetical line that separates the north and southern hemispheres.
My question is how 'wide' is the equator and therefore does the area included within this band constitute the north or south?
Just curious an when I was in Africa last year we supposedly 'crossed' the equator.
2006-09-21 03:35:02 · 20 answers · asked by Chris G 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Geography
The equator is a one dimensional line the runs around the earth. It has only length, not width nor depth. It is am imaginary boundary, but actually quite real. You can't see it, feel it, or touch it, but it is there.
2006-09-21 03:39:02 · answer #1 · answered by eeaglenest 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok, check this out. The Coriolis Effect can be used to determine the width of the equator. So when I was in Kenya crossing the equator I used this "effect" to determine where the equator is. I also used the "effect" to
determine the edge of the equator to the north and south and I was able to approximate how wide the equator is. From my experiment (and I would not count it as the most scientific) I would concluded the equator was no wider than a eight lane high way. If anyone has any other information i would love to read it.
2016-09-03 10:31:43 · answer #2 · answered by Brian C 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Noone drew a line with a pencil to show you where it is. The equator is determined by the sun rays.Where the most direct rays hit the earth (on average throughout the year) is the "equator". The earth varies its rotation, and the equator could be different than it was 5 yeasrs ago. In geograpy it is used as a divider for north and south, however it is still an educated guess. Maps are made to show a common place (town, city,or other marking) to be used a common reference for the rest of the world.
2006-09-24 11:39:32 · answer #3 · answered by tbone608 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Equator is an imaginary line between North and South so it does not exist
2006-09-21 23:50:04 · answer #4 · answered by Monty323 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Equator has zero width. The Equator is an imaginary plane that passes through the Earth's center of mass and is perpendicular to the Earth's axis of rotation. The Equator is commonly described as a circle around the middle of the Earth, i.e., the intersection of the equatorial plane with the surface of the Earth.
The equatorial circumference of the Earth is 40,075,017 meters (24,901.461 miles).
2006-09-21 04:10:26 · answer #5 · answered by Deep Thought 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It has no "width". It's the imaginary line separating the North and South hemispheres.
2006-09-21 03:39:57 · answer #6 · answered by Azalian 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Zero width.
Equator is an imaginery line across the globe between the geographical North and the geographical South poles. It does not lie there with any physical attributes.
2006-09-21 03:40:56 · answer #7 · answered by Clipper2000 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It doesnt have a width...it is purely a separation line between the north and south.
2006-09-21 03:36:57 · answer #8 · answered by Rhys H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The equator is a line like you said and lines don't have a width.
2006-09-21 03:38:31 · answer #9 · answered by j_son_06 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The equator is an imaginary circle halfway between the poles.
2006-09-21 03:50:51 · answer #10 · answered by Jim W 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋