Work out the time anywhere with a time-zone map

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card A. World time zones in January, as offsets from UTC: Phoenix UTC−7; Charleston, West Virginia, UTC−5; London UTC+0; Moscow UTC+3; Beijing UTC+8; Tokyo UTC+9; Sydney UTC+11 (its summer daylight time; outside its summer Sydney is UTC+10). Card B. Rules, in our words. UTC is Coordinated Universal Time, the world’s reference time. A plus sign means the place is ahead of UTC and a minus sign means behind it. Local time = UTC time + the offset. When the clock passes midnight the date changes. All offsets here are whole hours.

2. 1.

   It is 22:00 on Monday in London in January. What are the time and date in Tokyo, Ari asks?

   • 07:00 on Monday, nine hours later but the date does not change
   • 13:00 on Monday, nine hours earlier, since Tokyo is on the other side
   • 07:00 on Tuesday, since Tokyo is nine hours ahead and midnight has passed
   • 06:00 on Tuesday, using Beijing’s eight hours

3. Use this

   Card A. World time zones in January, as offsets from UTC: Phoenix UTC−7; Charleston, West Virginia, UTC−5; London UTC+0; Moscow UTC+3; Beijing UTC+8; Tokyo UTC+9; Sydney UTC+11 (its summer daylight time; outside its summer Sydney is UTC+10).

4. 2.

   Is Phoenix ahead of Charleston or behind it in January, and by how much, Bo asks?

   • Behind by 12 hours, adding the two offsets 7 and 5
   • Ahead by 2 hours, since 7 is a bigger number than 5
   • Behind by 2 hours, since −7 is two steps below −5
   • Behind by 7 hours, the size of Phoenix’s own offset
5. 3.

   It is 12:00 in Moscow. What time is it in Beijing in January, Esme asks?

   • 20:00, adding Beijing’s eight hours to the clock
   • 07:00, since Beijing is further east and so behind Moscow
   • 17:00, since Beijing’s +8 is five hours ahead of Moscow’s +3
   • 15:00, adding Moscow’s three hours to the clock
6. 4.

   Card A gives Sydney UTC+11 in January. Is that Sydney’s offset all year, Jun asks?

   • Yes: a city keeps one offset for the whole year
   • Yes, but the card gives +11 because the city’s clocks run fast
   • No: +11 is its summer daylight time; outside summer Sydney is UTC+10
   • No: it is +11 in winter and +10 in summer

7. Use this

   Card A. World time zones in January, as offsets from UTC: Phoenix UTC−7; Charleston, West Virginia, UTC−5; London UTC+0; Moscow UTC+3; Beijing UTC+8; Tokyo UTC+9; Sydney UTC+11 (its summer daylight time; outside its summer Sydney is UTC+10). Card B. Rules, in our words. UTC is Coordinated Universal Time, the world’s reference time. A plus sign means the place is ahead of UTC and a minus sign means behind it. Local time = UTC time + the offset. When the clock passes midnight the date changes. All offsets here are whole hours.

8. 5.

   It is 02:00 on Wednesday in Beijing. What are the time and date in London in January, Kira asks?

   • 10:00 on Wednesday, eight hours later than Beijing
   • 18:00 on Wednesday, eight hours earlier but on the same date
   • 18:00 on Tuesday, since London is eight hours behind Beijing
   • 17:00 on Tuesday, using Tokyo’s nine hours

9. Use this

   Card A. World time zones in January, as offsets from UTC: Phoenix UTC−7; Charleston, West Virginia, UTC−5; London UTC+0; Moscow UTC+3; Beijing UTC+8; Tokyo UTC+9; Sydney UTC+11 (its summer daylight time; outside its summer Sydney is UTC+10).

10. 6.

    Which pair has the biggest gap in clock time in January, Milo asks?

    • London and Moscow: the smallest offsets give the biggest gap
    • Tokyo and Phoenix: 9 minus −7 is 16 hours
    • Sydney and Phoenix: 11 minus −7 is 18 hours
    • Tokyo and Charleston: 9 minus −5 is 14 hours

11. Use this

    Card A. World time zones in January, as offsets from UTC: Phoenix UTC−7; Charleston, West Virginia, UTC−5; London UTC+0; Moscow UTC+3; Beijing UTC+8; Tokyo UTC+9; Sydney UTC+11 (its summer daylight time; outside its summer Sydney is UTC+10). Card B. Rules, in our words. UTC is Coordinated Universal Time, the world’s reference time. A plus sign means the place is ahead of UTC and a minus sign means behind it. Local time = UTC time + the offset. When the clock passes midnight the date changes. All offsets here are whole hours.

12. 7.

    When it is 20:00 in Beijing in January, which city shows 12:00 on the same date, Pia asks?

    • London, which is eight hours behind Beijing
    • Moscow, which is five hours behind Beijing
    • Tokyo, which is one hour ahead of Beijing
    • Charleston, which is thirteen hours behind Beijing
13. 8.

    It is Friday 20:00 in Phoenix in January. What are the time and day in Tokyo, Ren asks?

    • 12:00 on Friday, 16 hours later but on the same day
    • 12:00 on Saturday, 16 hours later
    • 19:00 on Saturday, using the eleven hours of Sydney
    • 04:00 on Friday, 16 hours earlier
14. 9.

    The cards say UTC is the reference time. Why is the offset written with a plus or minus sign, Tala asks?

    • The sign tells whether to add the number to the date (+) or subtract it (−)
    • The sign tells whether the place changes its clocks (+) or does not (−)
    • The sign tells whether the place is north (+) or south (−) of the equator
    • The sign tells whether the clock is ahead of UTC (+) or behind it (−)

15. Use this

    Card A. World time zones in January, as offsets from UTC: Phoenix UTC−7; Charleston, West Virginia, UTC−5; London UTC+0; Moscow UTC+3; Beijing UTC+8; Tokyo UTC+9; Sydney UTC+11 (its summer daylight time; outside its summer Sydney is UTC+10).

16. 10.

    Zee says London and Beijing are 8 hours apart in January. Do the cards support that?

    • Yes: 8 minus 0 is 8, and Beijing is ahead
    • No: the gap is 9 hours, since Tokyo is the next city east
    • No: the gap is 3 hours, from Moscow’s offset
    • Yes, but London is ahead, since 0 is above 8 on the clock