Question

How many parallels can be drawn on the globe at an interval of 15 minutes?

Answer 1

If you wish to draw parallels of latitude on a globe, you would have them at 80°S, 70°S, 60°S, 50°S, 40°S, 30°S, 20°S, 10°S, then 10°N, 20°N, 30°N, 40°N, 50°N, 60°N, 70°N, 80°N. That’s 16 parallels. You can’t really draw a parallel at the poles (90°N and 90°S) as it’s a point not really a small circle, and the one at 0° is the equator and a great circle, while the others are small circles. So you could count the equator (17) or not, as you feel inclined.

Alternatively, you could argue that you could start at 89°S and go north at 10° intervals, and then start anywhere else and repeat the process, and so get an infinite number of parallels. Take your choice! You can probably make a case for any number that suits!