Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a standard system that is used to set all the world’s time zones.

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the time at the zero degree line of longitude, also known as the Prime Meridian.

The Prime Meridian is the line of longitude at 0 degrees, from which the other lines of longitude are measured east and west.

Longitude and time zones

Geography

Day and night

The International Date Line and time

Travel and time

Using digital maps to plan a trip to a different time zone

This unit provides a foundation for subsequent work in KS3.

This unit builds on 'Climate zones: What are they and why do they matter?', and also on 'Europe: How diverse are its landscapes and places'' and 'The Americas: How diverse are its places and landscapes?', which sequentially build pupils’ knowledge of the importance and location of significant lines of longitude and latitude on planet Earth, and deepens their understanding of time zones.

This unit explores the relationship between the Earth's rotation, day and night, and time zones. Pupils learn how longitude affects time, investigate the International Date Line, and consider what happens when we travel across the globe.

Time zones: can we time travel on planet Earth?

Daylight happens when places face towards the ...

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the average time when the sun crosses the {{ }} at Greenwich in London.

Which of these is a standard system that is used to set all of the world’s time zones?

Time in countries to the east of the Prime Meridian is always {{ }} that in the UK.

Time in countries to the west of the Prime Meridian is always ...

If the UTC was 12:00 noon, which time zone do you think this webcam could be from?

Lines of longitude are imaginary lines on Earth showing position east or west of the {{ }}, measured in degrees.

At any moment, half of Earth faces the sun and experiences the light and heat from the sun’s rays while the other half is in ...

Which statements about lines of longitude are true?

What is the name given to the red line of longitude shown on this globe?

The Antimeridian is located at {{ }} longitude and runs through the Pacific Ocean.

Longitude and time zones

Lesson outcome