1. Both Maine and Hawaii are known for their beautiful beaches and spectacular coastlines. Which state has more miles of shoreline?
a. Maine
b. Hawaii
c. They have the same amount of coastline.
d. It depends on how you measure it.
2. What is the difference in latitude between Maine and Hawaii?
a. 90 degrees
b. 23 degrees
c. 18 degrees
d. 80 degrees
3. What is the difference in longitude between Maine and Hawaii?
a. 88 degrees
b. 188 degrees
c. 18 degrees
d. 8 degrees
4. Which animals are found in Hawaii but not in Maine?
a. dolphins and seals
b. wallabies and wild boars
c. bats and peregrine falcons
d. sea turtles and albatrosses
5. Which state's economy is more dependent on tourism?
a. Maine's
b. Hawaii's
c. Both states are equally dependent on tourism.
d. It depends on how you add things up.
6. What is the difference in average July high temperature between Maine and Hawaii?
a. Approximately 3 degrees F
b. Approximately 9 degrees F
c. Approximately 13 degrees F
d. Approximately 23 degrees F
7. What is the difference in average January high temperature between Maine and Hawaii?
a. Approximately 20 degrees F
b. Approximately 30 degrees F
c. Approximately 40 degrees F
d. Approximately 50 degrees F
8. True or False? Hawaii is more densely populated than Maine.
9. Which constellations can you see in Hawaii but not in Maine?
a. Crux (The Southern Cross) and Centaurus (The Centaur)
b. Chameleon and Hydrus (The Water Snake)
c. Hydra (The Sea Serpent) and Monoceros (The Unicorn)
d. Cassiopeia (The Queen) and Ursa Major (The Great Bear)
10. True or False? The sun sets more slowly in Hawaii than in Maine.
11. True or False? Hawaii is closer to Australia than to Maine.
12. True or False? Portland, Maine, is closer to Istanbul than to Honolulu.
13. What percentage of Hawaii's population is of Asian descent?
a. About 3%
b. About 17%
c. About 37%
d. About 73%
14. True or False? It never snows in Hawaii.
15. True or False? The sun is directly overhead at noon on the Winter Solstice in Hawaii.
16. What is the median home price in Hawaii?
a. $149,600
b. $279,400
c. $301,900
d. $719,100
17. What is the median home price in Maine?
a. $149,600
b. $279,400
c. $301,900
d. $719,100
18. Which state produces more of its food locally (as of 2018)?
a. Hawaii
b. Maine
c. They produce about the same percentage of their food locally.
d. They both import nearly all of their food.
19. True or False? There are no poisonous snakes in Hawaii.
20. True or False? There are no poisonous snakes in Maine.
CHECK YOUR ANSWERS
1. Both Maine and Hawaii are known for their beautiful beaches and spectacular coastlines. Which state has more miles of coastline?
ANSWER: d. It depends on how you measure it. Hawaii wins easily for miles of general coastline (the general outline of the seacoast), with 750 miles to Maine's 228. But for tidal shoreline, a more detailed measure of the coast, Maine comes out way ahead, with 3,479 miles to Hawaii's 1052. In other words, it would take longer to travel in a straight line along Hawaii's coast, but Maine's shoreline is much more uneven and indented.
2. What is the difference in latitude between Maine and Hawaii?
ANSWER: b. 23 degrees, which is about the difference between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer.
3. What is the difference in longitude between Maine and Hawaii?
ANSWER: a. 88 degrees, which is just about one-quarter of the way around the globe.
4. Which animals are found in Hawaii but not in Maine?
ANSWER: b. wallabies and wild boars. Both are introduced species, Hawaii's only native terrestrial mammal being the Hawaiian Hoary Bat. All of the other animals listed are found in both Maine and Hawaii.
5. Which state's economy is more dependent on tourism?
ANSWER:b. Hawaii's. The exact numbers depend on how you count it (visitors contribute, to some extent, to every sector of the economy), but estimates range from 6-20 percent for Maine and anywhere from 20-80 percent for Hawaii. For the percentage of its economy coming from outdoor recreation activities, Maine comes in third in the nation, behind Hawaii and Montana but well ahead of Colorado, which is tied with Utah for eighth place.
6. What is the difference in average July high temperatures between Maine and Hawaii?
ANSWER: b. Approximately 9 degrees F. The average high temperature in July in Maine is about 79 degrees F, while the average high temperature in July in Hawaii is about 88 degrees F.
7. What is the difference in average January high temperatures between Maine and Hawaii?
ANSWER: c. Approximately 50 degrees F. There is a much bigger difference between Maine temperatures and Hawaii temperatures in the winter, with January highs averaging about 30 degrees F in Maine and about 80 degrees F in Hawaii.
8. True or False? Hawaii is more densely populated than Maine.
ANSWER: True. Maine has a population density of just 43 people per square mile, while Hawaii is more than five times as population dense, with 223 people per square mile. Still, Hawaii is sparsely populated compared to the most densely populated state, New Jersey, which has 1,208 people for every square mile, and even more sparsely populated compared to the most densely populated country in the world, the microstate of Monaco, which packs an incredible 49,230 people into every square mile of its tiny territory.
9. Which constellations can you see in Hawaii but not in Maine?
ANSWER: a. Crux (The Southern Cross) and Centaurus (The Centaur). You have to be at or south of 26 degrees N latitude (about the latitude of Southern Florida or Texas) to see Crux (The Southern Cross). Hawaii, at about 21 degrees N, is comfortably within that zone. Maine is much too far North, at about 44 degrees above the equator. Similarly, Centaurus can only be seen between 90 degrees S latitude and 25 degrees N latitude, so it is visible in Hawaii but not in Maine.
As for the others, Chameleon can be seen from neither Hawaii nor Maine, being visible south of seven degrees north latiude. Similarly, Hydrus (The Water Snake) can only be seen between latitudes 90 degrees S and 5 degrees N. Hydra (The Sea Serpent--not to be confused with Hydrus, the Water Snake) and Monoceros (The Unicorn) are both equatorial constellations that are visible in both Maine and Hawaii, while Cassiopeia (The Queen) and Ursa Major (The Great Bear) are both Northern circumpolar constellations that can also be seen from both Hawaii and Maine.
10. True or False? The sun sets more slowly in Hawaii than in Maine.
ANSWER: False. The sun sets (and rises) faster in Hawaii than in Maine. This is because Hawaii is closer to the equator and therefore the sun rises and sets closer to due East and West there, meaning that it is rising and setting at a steeper angle relative to the horizon. In Maine the sun will rise farther North (in summer) or South (in winter) of due East and West than in Hawaii, meaning that it will appear to take more time for the body of the sun to rise above or set below the horizon.
In Maine, the sun will rise and set most rapidly on the equinoxes, when its path is at its steepest angle of the year for our latitude.
11. True or False? Hawaii is closer to Australia than to Maine.
ANSWER: False. Hawaii is 5,077 miles from Maine and about six hundred miles farther away from Australia, with the shortest air travel distance being about 5,672 miles.
12. True or False? Portland, Maine is closer to Istanbul than to Honolulu.
ANSWER: True. Portland, Maine, is 4,749 miles from Istanbul and 5,107 miles (358 miles farther) from Honolulu.
13. What percentage of Hawaii's population is of Asian descent?
ANSWER: c. About 37%. In addition, about 20% of the state's residents are of Native Hawaiian descent. Hawaii also has a sizable minority of people of European descent (about 25%) and a Hispanic minority that makes up about 10 percent of the state's population. Approximately 2 percent of Hawaiians are of African descent. Of course these numbers are confused by the fact that about a quarter of Hawaii residents are of mixed racial/ethnic backgrounds.
In contrast to Hawaii's extremely diverse population, close to 97% of Maine residents are of European descent, with people of Asian, African, and Native American descent together constituting less than 2 percent of the population and people of mixed race/ethnicity constituting just over 2 percent.
14. True or False? It never snows in Hawaii.
ANSWER: False. You won't experience frost or snow in most parts of Hawaii, which enjoy a balmy tropical climate, but winter (and rarely, summer) snowstorms can occur at the summits of Hawaii's three tallest volcanoes, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Haleakala. In fact, Mauna Kea means "white mountain" because it is frequently snow-covered. Snow rarely falls at elevations below 9,000 feet in Hawaii, and although accumulations can be as high as 8 inches at the highest elevations, the snow generally melts within a few days.
15. True or False? The sun is directly overhead at noon on the Winter Solstice in Hawaii.
ANSWER: False. Since Hawaii's latitude (21.3 degrees N, if you are in Honolulu) is very close to the latitude of the Tropic of Cancer and the sun appears directly over the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees N) on the Summer Solstice, the sun will appear almost directly overhead (at the zenith) in Hawaii on the Summer (June) Solstice, not the Winter (December) Solstice. On the Winter Solstice, the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees S).
To find the angle of the sun above the horizon in Honolulu on the Winter Solstice, you would first find the difference between the latitude of Honolulu and the latitude of the Tropic of Capricorn (21.3 degrees N - 23.5 degrees S = 44.8 degrees). Then subtract that latitude difference from 90.0 degrees for a sun angle of 90.0 - 44.8 = 45.2 degrees above the horizon (or almost precisely halfway between the horizon and the zenith. That's about the same as the angle of the sun at noon on the spring and fall equinoxes in Augusta, Maine (Augusta is at a latitude of 44.3 degrees N, so you find the difference between that and the latitude of the equator, where the sun is directly overhead at noon on the equinoxes: 44.3 degrees N - 0 degrees N = 44.3 degrees. Then subtract that difference from 90 degrees to find the angle of the sun above the horizon at noon on the equinoxes in Augusta: 90.0 degrees - 44.3 degrees = 45.7 degrees above the horizon).
16. What is the median home price in Hawaii?
ANSWER: d. $719,100
17. What is the median house price in Maine?
ANSWER: c. $301,900
18. Which state produces more of its food locally (as of 2018)?
ANSWER: b. Maine. Maine produces about 20 percent of its own food, Hawaii only about 15 percent, which seems ironic considering Hawaii's ideal growing climate and rich volcanic soil. Both states hope to increase their food self-sufficiency significantly over the next decade.
19. True or False? There are no venomous snakes in Hawaii.
ANSWER: True. There are no venomous land snakes in Hawaii, and Hawaii has no native terrestrial snakes of any kind. However, people occasionally report venomous sea snakes washing up on beaches. Hawaii is one of only four U. S. states with no venomous snakes, the other three being Alaska, Rhode Island, and, yes, Maine (see below).
20. True or False? There are no venomous snakes in Maine.
ANSWER: True. Maine is one of only four U.S. states with no venomous snakes. Maine is home to nine species of non-venomous snakes, but the poisonous timber rattlesnake, which used to exist in the southern part of the state, was extirpated in the mid-nineteenth century.
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