Work out the time anywhere with a time-zone map
Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.
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.
It is 22:00 on Monday in London in January. What are the time and date in Tokyo, Ari asks?
- 07:00 on Tuesday, since Tokyo is nine hours ahead and midnight has passed
- 13:00 on Monday, nine hours earlier, since Tokyo is on the other side
- 06:00 on Tuesday, using Beijing’s eight hours
- 07:00 on Monday, nine hours later but the date does not change
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).
It is 12:00 in Moscow. What time is it in Beijing in January, Esme asks?
- 17:00, since Beijing’s +8 is five hours ahead of Moscow’s +3
- 07:00, since Beijing is further east and so behind Moscow
- 20:00, adding Beijing’s eight hours to the clock
- 15:00, adding Moscow’s three hours to the clock
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.
It is 02:00 on Wednesday in Beijing. What are the time and date in London in January, Kira asks?
- 17:00 on Tuesday, using Tokyo’s nine hours
- 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
When the time in UTC is 14:00, what do the clocks in Charleston show in January, Luz asks?
- 14:00, since UTC is the same time everywhere
- 07:00, using Phoenix’s seven hours
- 09:00, since UTC−5 means five hours behind UTC
- 19:00, adding the five hours to UTC
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).
Which pair has the biggest gap in clock time in January, Milo asks?
- Sydney and Phoenix: 11 minus −7 is 18 hours
- Tokyo and Charleston: 9 minus −5 is 14 hours
- London and Moscow: the smallest offsets give the biggest gap
- Tokyo and Phoenix: 9 minus −7 is 16 hours
Noah’s note says: “Tokyo is 17 hours ahead of Phoenix in January.” Which fix is right?
- Change it: Tokyo is 2 hours ahead, since 9 minus 7 is 2
- Leave it: 9 plus 7 plus the extra hour of Tokyo’s summer time
- Change it: Tokyo is 16 hours ahead, since 9 minus −7 is 16
- Change it: Tokyo is 14 hours ahead, using Charleston’s −5
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.
When it is 20:00 in Beijing in January, which city shows 12:00 on the same date, Pia asks?
- Tokyo, which is one hour ahead of Beijing
- Charleston, which is thirteen hours behind Beijing
- Moscow, which is five hours behind Beijing
- London, which is eight hours behind Beijing
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
- 19:00 on Saturday, using the eleven hours of Sydney
- 04:00 on Friday, 16 hours earlier
- 12:00 on Saturday, 16 hours later
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 the place changes its clocks (+) or does not (−)
- The sign tells whether the clock is ahead of UTC (+) or behind it (−)
- The sign tells whether to add the number to the date (+) or subtract it (−)
- The sign tells whether the place is north (+) or south (−) of the equator
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).
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

