Q 01/05

What is the longitude of the prime meridian?

A) Ninety

B) Nought

C) One hundred and eighty

D) Forty-five

Answer · why

B) Nought

Longitude is defined as 0 there; with its anti-meridian it splits the globe into two halves.

Q 02/05

What long symbolised the prime meridian in the courtyard of the Royal Observatory?

A) A brass strip

B) A stone obelisk

C) A row of iron studs

D) A painted white line

Answer · why

A) A brass strip

It has since been replaced by stainless steel.

Q 03/05

Which two hemispheres does the prime meridian divide the Earth into?

A) Northern and Southern

B) Land and Ocean

C) Eastern and Western

D) Upper and Lower

Answer · why

C) Eastern and Western

Unlike the equator, the choice of prime meridian is astronomically arbitrary.

Q 04/05

In which year did the International Meridian Conference adopt Greenwich as the world's prime meridian?

A) 1924

B) 1851

C) 1911

D) 1884

Answer · why

D) 1884

Forty-one delegates met that October.

Q 05/05

In which city was the International Meridian Conference held?

A) London, England

B) Paris, France

C) Washington, D.C.

D) Rome, Italy

Answer · why

C) Washington, D.C.

Congress had authorised the president to call it by an Act of 3 August 1882.