Time Zones

What time zone do you live in?

Time zones are used to determine the time in different places around the world. As the Earth rotates, different areas experience daytime and nighttime, depending on whether the sun is shining there or not.

24 hours day and night cycle diagram. illustration of sun and planet earth rotating on its axis.

Because of this rotation, different times are used because not every place on Earth can have the same time.

Countries all over the world are divided into time zones based on longitudinal bands. There are 24 different time zones.

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What time zone
do you live in?

In the U.S., there are six time zones:

Hawaii-Aleutian
Alaska
Pacific
Mountain
Central
Eastern

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Do you see a pattern?

Each time zone from west to east is one hour later than the previous time zone.

You can do simple math to figure out what time it is in a different time zone. Since there are six time zones in the U.S. and each with an hour difference in between, you can add or subtract hours from a time zone to find the accurate time.

For example, if you lived in California (Pacific Standard Time), and it was 3:00 PM there, it would be 6:00 PM in New York (Eastern Standard Time). There is a three-hour difference between Eastern and Pacific time zones because there are three time zones in between, each an hour apart.

If it was 7:30 AM in Colorado (Mountain Standard Time), it would be 8:30 AM in Texas (Central Standard Time). There is a one-hour difference between Mountain and Central time. Since the time increases by one hour from west to east, you add one hour to 7:30 to get 8:30.

Find your state and figure out your time zone.

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Answer the questions below to figure out the time it would be in different places around the U.S.

If it is 6:00 PM in Pennsylvania, what time is it in Alaska?

If it is 4:00 PM in Nevada, what time is it in Florida?

Tommy's dad is on a work trip in California. Tommy asks his mom if he can call his dad before he leaves for school in the morning. Tommy lives in North Carolina. If it is 7:15 AM in North Carolina, what time is it in California? Do you think Tommy's dad will be awake?