Question 1

True or false: The Prime Meridian was originally chosen because it passed through the United States.

Accepted Answer

False. The Prime Meridian was chosen to pass through Greenwich, England, not the U.S. The 1884 conference favored Greenwich due to its widespread use in navigation.

Question 2

True or false: The Prime Meridian passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England.

Accepted Answer

True. The Prime Meridian was internationally adopted in 1884 as the line of 0° longitude running through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.

Question 3

True or false: The Prime Meridian passes through eight countries, including France, Spain, and Ghana.

Accepted Answer

True. Running from the North Pole to the South Pole, the Prime Meridian crosses the UK, France, Spain, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Ghana.

Question 4

True or false: The Prime Meridian passes through the city of Paris, France.

Accepted Answer

False. The Prime Meridian runs through France but passes about 2.3° east of Paris. The Paris Meridian was a rival but never the international standard.

Question 5

True or false: The Prime Meridian was established by international agreement at the 1884 International Meridian Conference.

Accepted Answer

True. Delegates from 25 nations met in Washington, D.C., in 1884 and voted to adopt the Greenwich Meridian as the Prime Meridian.

Question 6

True or false: The Prime Meridian is the only line of longitude that intersects the equator.

Accepted Answer

False. All lines of longitude, including the Prime Meridian, intersect the equator. There is no unique intersection for the Prime Meridian.

Question 7

True or false: The Prime Meridian was established by the French Academy of Sciences in 1790.

Accepted Answer

False. The French Academy defined the Paris Meridian, not the Prime Meridian. The international Prime Meridian was adopted in 1884 within Greenwich, England.

Question 8

True or false: The modern Prime Meridian used by GPS lies about 102 meters east of the historic Greenwich meridian line.

Accepted Answer

True. GPS and modern mapping use the IERS Reference Meridian, which is approximately 102 meters east of the old Greenwich line due to earlier survey errors.

Prime Meridian Trivia Questions