WAEC Geography 2022 Papers

Concept:The distance between consecutive lines of latitude is nearly constant on Earth’s surface.Explanation:The Earth’s circumference is approximately $40{,}000$ km.A full circle contains $360^\circ$.So, the ground distance for $1^\circ$ of latitude is:$$\frac{40{,}000\text{ km}}{360^\circ} \approx 111\text{ km}.$$This value remains almost the same everywhere because lines of latitude are parallel to each other.Let us check the other options:Option B is false because $15^\circ$ of longitude corresponds to 1 hour, not 4 minutes.Option C is false because only opposite meridians, not opposite latitude lines, form a Great Circle.Option D is false because on December 22 the Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn, not the Tropic of Cancer.Answer:A. There is a distance of 111 km for every $1^\circ$ of latitudinal difference.