Objective: To understand time zones and the effects changing time zones can have on travellers (P4/5)
Outcome: A leaflet about time zones for tourists.

• The globe is divided up into lines of longitude.
• 0⁰ runs through Greenwich in
London. This in known as the
Prime Meridian. The time at this point is known as Greenwich
Mean Time (GMT) or sometimes as Universal Time Co-ordinate
(UTC).
• As you travel east or west from the prime meridian time changes.
Approximately every 15⁰ you will move into the next time zone.

Why do you think the lines are not straight?

• If you travel in an easterly direction the clocks will go forward.
The further you travel the further forward you have to set your watch. You will actually ‘lose’ this time.
• E.g. if you travel from the UK towards Australia travelling over
Africa and Asia you will add around 8-10 hours to the time.
• If you set out at 8 am the time in Australia will be around
4pm. This means you will effectively ‘lose’ this time.
• If you travel in a westerly direction the clocks go backwards.
The further you travel the further back you will have to set your watch. You will actually get this time again so you will
‘gain’ time.
• E.g. if you travel from the UK across the Atlantic ocean to New
York in the USA you will add 5 hours to your day.
• If you set out at 8am it will 3am in New York. So you will get that time all over again! (Even though you will spend it in an aeroplane!)

• Why do you think that travel agents usually use the 24 hour clock, especially when talking about time zones?

• Some places are so big that they have several time zones in them.
• E.g. in the Western Hemisphere the USA is 5 hours behind GMT on its western coast (New
York) but is 8 hours behind on its eastern coast
(Los Angeles).
• E.g. in the Eastern Hemisphere Russia is 3 hours ahead of GMT nearest to the UK but is
12 hours ahead furthest away and touches the international date line.

On the far side of the world opposite the Prime Meridian along the 180° line of latitude is the International
Date Line.
This line falls between the USA and Russia and travels down the centre of the Pacific
Ocean going around New
Zealand.

• So what does it do?
• This line is the official place where a new day
‘starts’.
• If you travel from east to west across the line you will move into a new day. E.g if you set out on a Saturday and cross the dateline you will move into Sunday.
• If you travel from west to east you will go back a day. If you set out on a Saturday you will move back into Friday.

• Daylight saving is a when countries move their clocks forward or backwards by an hour to provide extra daylight in the evenings. In
Britain we call this British Summer Time (BST).
• We move our clocks forward by and hour on the last Sunday in March and back again on the last Sunday in October.

• Now use your map to complete worksheet 1
• Complete worksheet 2 using the computer.

• Jet Lag- this is when your body thinks it is a different time to it actually is.
• For example it may be the middle of the night when you arrive somewhere but you might have only been up for a 7 or
8 hours so don’t feel like sleeping. This will make you tired the next day (if you are travelling where time is added).
• Or you might arrive somewhere at lunchtime and your body thinks its bedtime. You will want to go to bed but shouldn’t as you wont sleep that night then! (if you are travelling where time is taken away).
• This might affect your holiday enjoyment at first as you adjust to the new times.
• The further you travel the worse it usually is!

• If you travel in an easterly direction you will gradually lose time. This might mean that you lose a day of your holiday.
• If you cross the international date line as you travel you may also gain or lose a day of your holiday depending upon which direction you travel.
• If you are a business traveller this might affect you more as you may have to attend meetings and conferences when you are tired and not performing at your best. You won’t want to let your company down!

• You work for a global travel company and have been asked to produce a leaflet about time zones to give to passengers.
• You will need to explain what they are, what the terminology means and how travelling through different time zones might affect them. You could also add a section on how to avoid jet lag.