Why time zone lines are not straight?

The Earth takes twenty-four hours to rotate through 360 degree. Hence two places that are 15 degree of longitude apart have a difference of one hour, in time. As the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. This adds up to a difference of 24 hours or one day between east and west of 180 degree line of longitude.

Why are timezones not uniforms?

According to wikipedia: “Time zones tend to follow the boundaries of countries and their subdivisions because it is convenient for areas in close commercial or other communication to keep the same time.”

Why are time zones drawn the way they are?

He proposed that the world be divided into 24 time zones, each spaced 15 (fifteen degrees) of longitude apart (like 24 sections of an orange). He came to this idea because Earth completes a rotation every 24 hours and there are 360 of longitude, so each hour Earth rotates 1/24th of a circle or 15.

Are time zones based on longitude?

Time zones are another arbitrary societal choice, like the origin point of the Prime Meridian. They are based on longitude and defined by Earth’s rotation, which completes a full circle (360 degrees) each day (24 hours). Each hour then, Earth rotates through 360/24 = 15° of longitude: the width of one time zone.

How were time zone lines determined?

Since the earth rotates once every 24 hours and there are 360 degrees of longitude, each hour the earth rotates one-twenty-fourth of a circle or 15 degrees of longitude. The conference selected the longitude of Greenwich, England as zero degrees longitude and established the 24 time zones based on the prime meridian.

How do timezones work?

How Many Time Zones Are There? There are 24 hours in a day, and 360 degrees of longitude encompassing the globe – dividing 360 by 24 gives you the 15 degrees of longitude that equates to a one-hour difference in each time zone. Based on this, you can then deduce that there are 24 time zones around the world.

How many time zones are there around the globe?

24 time zones
The world is divided into 24 time zones. The course of one day is broken down to the seconds and calculated to define the correct time of a particular place. However, it is not that easy. The 24 time zones, created in accordance to each hour of the day, are theoretically drawn vertically like longitudes over the globe.

Why do we have time zones ks2?

Time zones make it so that everyone has the same pattern of sunrise in the early morning and sunset at night. We need time zones because the earth is curved, like a ball. As the sun shines on the earth, not all places get the same amount of sunlight.

How does longitude and latitude affect time zones?

The standard practice is to establish a time zone for each 15° of longitude. This makes a difference of exactly 1 hour between each zone. In the conterminous United States, there are four time zones. The time zones are Eastern (75°), Central (90°), Mountain (105°), and Pacific (120°).

How do longitude and latitude connect to time zones?

so every 15 degrees of longitude equals one time zone.