Time Zones

This scene displays a giant globe, highlighting the boundaries between different time zones around the world. Students can study the globe, noticing where boundaries between times zones follow a line of longitude from north to south, and where in the world they are shifted from these lines, often for cultural reasons.

# Learning objectives

1: To understand why time zones are necessary on Earth.{.info}

2: To identify the pattern of where the boundaries of time zones are found.{.info}

# Time Zones and Lines of Longitude{.objective .objective1}

In this section students can learn about lines of longitude, also known as meridians, which run from the north pole to the south pole. In this activity students are invited to try and find locations where a time zone boundary is a straight line running from north to south, suggesting it is following a line of longitude.

# Time Zones and Countries{.objective .objective2}

In this section a description is given of why not all boundaries will follow a line of longitude directly; smaller nations might want to keep the same time as their neighbours, while particularly large countries might need different time zones within one nation. In this activity students locate boundaries that have shifted from a line of longitude and try to suggest reasons for why this may be.

# The International Date Line{.objective .objective3}

In this section students learn that opposite the prime meridian is the international date line. Crossing this ‘line’ requires a change of date, for example from Sunday to Monday. In this activity students are asked to find where in the world a new year is celebrated first on 1st January.


# Teacher Resources

**Download Teacher Notes**

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/793394/files/Time%20Zones+Teacher+Notes+1.pdf?date=1677148197&size=1272352&md5=cc392ed6ede087b40a4daff560eddfb8)

**Student Quiz Answers Document**

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/793395/files/Time%20Zones+Teacher+Notes+2.pdf?date=1677148262&size=716384&md5=1e8ba53831176d964b6fd25a72fd5a6f)

**Download Student Quiz Document**

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/793396/files/Time%20Zones+Teacher+Notes+3.pdf?date=1677148319&size=68110&md5=0b5946f6f51cea72e5d6b5ea748a66da)