🔍 Key Concepts

• Rhumb line (loxodrome) vs great circle characteristics • Effect of constant compass course on navigation and steering • Difference between shortest distance and easiest to steer/plot

💭 Think About

• Compare which type of track (rhumb line or great circle) is associated with the shortest distance on the Earth’s surface • Think about what happens to the ship’s compass heading over time on a rhumb line versus on a great circle • Ask yourself which option describes something that is uniquely true of a rhumb line and not primarily true of a great circle or another chart type

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify which track provides the shortest distance between two points on a sphere • Confirm how a rhumb line appears on a Mercator chart and what that implies for steering the ship • Check whether any options mention features that actually belong to great circle sailing or gnomonic charts, not rhumb lines