When is the rhumb line distance the same as...

Question 1 / 2707066636ee928f7522a1c51a00f

Question 1 of 2707066636ee928f7522a1c51a00f

When is the rhumb line distance the same as the great circle distance?

Question 1 of 27070

When is the rhumb line distance the same as the great circle distance?

🔍 Key Concepts

• Difference between a great circle and a rhumb line (loxodrome) • What happens to great circles and rhumb lines on meridians and the equator • How constant course lines behave on a Mercator chart

💭 Think About

• For which directions (courses) does a rhumb line follow the same path as a great circle on the Earth’s surface? • Look at each option and ask: does this course lie along a meridian, along the equator, or at an angle crossing them? • Think about whether latitude is changing or staying the same on each course, and how that affects the path shape on the globe.

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify when a great circle and rhumb line would trace exactly the same geographic line on the Earth (not just be similar). • Check which of the listed courses runs due east–west along a parallel, and which run due north–south along a meridian. • Verify whether the statement "The rhumb line distance is always longer" is universally true, or whether there are special cases where the paths coincide.

Question 1 of 27070

When is the rhumb line distance the same as the great circle distance?

Course 045°T in low latitudes

Course 090°T in high latitudes

The rhumb line distance is always longer than the great circle distance.

Course 180°T when you cross the equator

Question 1 / 2707066636ee928f7522a1c51a00f

Question 1 of 2707066636ee928f7522a1c51a00f

When is the rhumb line distance the same as the great circle distance?

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Question 1 of 27070

When is the rhumb line distance the same as the great circle distance?