Which best describes latitude? distance north or south of the polar zone distance north or south of the equator distance east or west of the temperate zone distance east or west of the equator

North or South of the Equator.
A trick is to think of Latitude as a "Ladder" that goes up and down.

The Equator is just a line that goes West to east in the very center of the earth, so latitude lines just show how far above or below something is from the line of the Equator :)

North or south of the equator... the imaginary line

Answersource rock;