FAA Sport Pilot Airplane (SPA)Airspace and NavigationHard
A pilot needs to plot a position of 40°15'N latitude on a sectional chart, where latitude tick marks along the chart border represent 1-minute increments. Starting from the labeled 40°00'N parallel line, how many tick marks should the pilot count northward to locate 40°15'N?
- A30 tick marks
- B25 tick marks
- C10 tick marks
- D15 tick marks
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. 15 tick marks
Since each tick mark equals 1 minute of latitude, locating a point 15 minutes north of the 40°00'N line requires counting 15 tick marks northward (40°00' + 15' = 40°15'N).
Why the other options are wrong
- A. This doubles the correct number of minutes.
- B. This overcounts by 10 tick marks.
- C. This undercounts the required minutes by 5.
Latitude/Longitude Chart Reading
Sectional chart borders are marked with tick marks representing minutes of latitude and longitude, used to precisely plot geographic coordinates.
- Each degree of latitude/longitude = 60 minutes
- Tick marks typically represent 1-minute increments along chart borders
- Latitude lines run east-west (parallels); longitude lines run north-south (meridians)
Memory trick: 60 minutes make a degree — count ticks like clock minutes.