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Hey there! Have you ever wondered why it can be sunny in New York while it is bedtime in London? Let us explore how our spinning Earth creates different times around the world!
As Earth spins, the Sun only shines on one side of our planet at a time. This means when one half of the world has daytime, the other half has night. To make sure midday is always when the Sun is highest in the sky, we divide the world into different time zones.
The Earth is a giant sphere that takes 24 hours to make one full spin. Because a circle has 360 degrees, we divide those degrees by 24 hours. This math gives us 24 main time zones, and each zone is exactly 15 degrees wide.
We start counting time zones from a starting line called the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England. If you travel east from this line, you add one hour for every zone you cross. If you travel west, you subtract one hour for each zone.
Your friend Maya lives in London, England. You live in New York, USA, which is 5 time zones to the west of London. If it is 6:00 PM in London, what time is it at your house in New York?
- Identify your starting point and time. London is at the starting line, and the time there is 6:00 PM.
- Find the direction of travel. New York is located to the west of London.
- Recall the time zone rule: traveling west means we must subtract time.
- Count back 5 hours from 6:00 PM (5:00 PM, 4:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 2:00 PM, and finally 1:00 PM).
- State the final answer. It is 1:00 PM in New York.
