Hi there! Have you ever wondered why the time is different in other places around the world? Let’s explore this fun topic together!
Doug loves clocks and has been collecting them. He even has a special clock called a nixie tube clock, which lights up in a cool way. But today, we’re going to talk about something even more interesting—time differences!
Alessandra asked Doug a great question: Why do places have different times? To answer this, Doug shared a story about calling his friend Anand in India. Doug lives in California, and when he called Anand, it was daytime for Doug but nighttime for Anand. How could that be?
To understand this, let’s look at a globe. A globe is a model of Earth that helps us see where different places are. Imagine the sun shining on one side of the globe. The side facing the sun has daytime, while the other side has nighttime. That’s why when it’s daytime for Doug in California, it’s nighttime for Anand in India. They are on opposite sides of the Earth!
Now, what about smaller time differences, like between Doug and his grandparents in Illinois? The Earth is divided into 24 sections called time zones, each one hour apart. If it’s 3 o’clock in one time zone, it’s 4 o’clock in the next. Doug’s grandparents are two time zones ahead, so when it’s dinnertime for Doug, it’s bedtime for them.
Each time zone has a name. Doug lives in Pacific Time, and his grandparents are in Central Time. Do you know what time zone you live in? You can look at a map to find out!
In summary, different places have different times because the Earth is round. Some people face the sun, making it daytime, while others face away, making it nighttime. With 24 hours in a day, the Earth is divided into 24 time zones, each one hour apart.
Thanks for joining this adventure about time! Remember, there are always new things to learn. Stay curious, and see you next time!
Make Your Own Time Zone Map: Grab a paper plate and some markers. Draw a simple map of the world on the plate. Use different colors to shade in different time zones. Label each section with the time difference from your own time zone. This will help you visualize how the Earth is divided into time zones. Ask yourself: “What time is it in another country when it’s noon here?”
Time Zone Role Play: Pretend you are calling a friend who lives in a different time zone. Choose a country and find out what time it is there when it’s 3 PM at your place. Act out a conversation where you discuss what each of you is doing at that time. This will help you understand how people in different parts of the world experience time differently.
Sun and Shadow Experiment: On a sunny day, go outside with a stick and a piece of chalk. Place the stick upright in the ground and mark the tip of its shadow with chalk every hour. Watch how the shadow moves as the sun changes position. Discuss with a friend or family member how this relates to the concept of day and night and time zones.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
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[PHONE RINGING][ALARM RINGING] Hi, it’s Doug. I’m surrounded by clocks. I’ve actually been collecting clocks recently because I really like them. Let me show you my favorite one. This one’s so cool! I love the way the numbers light up. This one’s called a nixie tube clock.
Someone named Alessandra has a question about time. Let’s give her a call. [PHONE RINGING] Hi, Doug. Hi, Alessandra. I have a question for you. Why do places have different times?
That’s a great question! It’s true that different places on Earth have different times. Let me tell you a little story. A while ago, I tried to call my friend Anand, who was living in India. For me, I had just finished eating lunch in California, where I live. It was afternoon. But when I called Anand, I actually woke him up because it was the middle of the night in India. Sorry about that, Anand!
So think about that. That’s a huge difference in time between two places on Earth. I called someone in the middle of the day my time, and it turned out to be the middle of the night for him. You might have had your own experience like this, maybe just not as big. For example, I mentioned that I live in California. My grandparents live in Illinois. Whenever I call them around dinnertime for me, it’s evening for them, but it’s not the same time. For them, it’s later in the evening; they’ve already eaten dinner, and it’s almost their bedtime.
Why is this? Why do different places have different times? What do you think? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss.
OK, you ready? To figure this out, one thing I would suggest we do is look at a globe. A globe is a model of the Earth, a tool that helps us imagine the whole Earth. We know the difference between California and India is really significant. It’s literally the difference between night and day.
If you look at a globe, you can find India right here, but California is all the way over here. So we can see that California and India are on opposite sides of the globe. Interesting! If we imagine this globe being the actual Earth in space, you’ve got the sun shining sunlight onto one half of the Earth. When sunlight is shining on this side of the globe, that means it’s daytime over here.
On the other side of the globe, where the sunlight can’t reach, it’s nighttime. So that’s why if it’s the middle of the day my time and I call India, it will be the middle of the night for people in India. The time difference is because the world is a big, round ball, and India and California are on opposite sides of that ball.
Now, what about smaller differences in time, like when it’s dinnertime for me in California, it’s bedtime for my grandparents in Illinois? If you were to call people all around the Earth and find out all the time differences, you would discover a pattern. There are 24 hours in a day, and we’ve divided the Earth into 24 sections or zones called time zones. Each time zone is one hour apart.
So, if in one time zone it’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon, in the next time zone, it’s 4 o’clock, and in the one next to that, it’s 5 o’clock. With these time zones in mind, you can figure out why there is a time difference between me and my grandparents. They don’t live on the other side of the Earth from me, but they are in a different time zone. They are two time zones ahead of me, which means they are two hours later than my time. That’s why when it’s dinnertime for me, it’s bedtime for them.
Each time zone has its own name. I live in a time zone called Pacific Time, and my grandparents are in Central Time. Do you know what time zone you live in? If you live in the United States, you can pause the video to look at a map and find out.
In summary, different places on Earth have different times because the Earth is round. While some people are facing towards the sun, making it daytime, others are facing away from the sun, making it nighttime. Since there are 24 hours in a day, we’ve divided the Earth into 24 sections or time zones, each one hour apart.
That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks, Alessandra, for asking it! Now for the next episode, I reached into my question jar and found three questions submitted to me that I’m thinking about answering. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from how do dinosaurs get their names, how do boats float, or how were emojis created. So submit your vote when the video is over. I want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week!
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