A compass is a tool that is used to describe one component of motion. Which component of motion does a compass describe: Direction. Imaginary lines that circle the Earth parallel to the Equator: Latitude. Imaginary lines that circle the Earth from Pole to Pole, measuring distance east or west of the Prime Meridian: Longitude. Which of these tells you this distance north or south of the Equator: Latitude. What is the object shown in the image: legend. What element is missing from this map: scale. Using the compass rose, what direction would you travel from Raleigh to Charleston: Northwest. Which continent is marked by the number "1": Africa. These two drawings of a globe show lines of longitude, or meridians, and lines of latitude, or parallels. Which kind of lines meet at the poles: longitude