How Does the Earth's Rotation Affect Time Zones Exactly?

The Earth spins like a merry-go-round, and time zones are just parts of that ride. Imagine the Earth is divided into 24 slices, one for each hour in a day. As it turns, different parts of the Earth face the Sun at different times. That’s why when it's morning in New York, it might be night in Tokyo.

Take the quiz →

Examples

Imagine a spinning pizza, each slice is like a time zone, and the crust gets light from the oven (Sun) at different times.
If you live on one side of the world, your friend on the other might be eating dinner while you're still having breakfast.
A time zone is like a team in a relay race, each one takes over when the previous one slows down.

Ask a question

Discussion

Recent activity

Categories: Science · earth rotation· time zones· science· geography· earth science