New
New
Year 6

Travel and time

I can understand that time zones can have an effect on travel.

New
New
Year 6

Travel and time

I can understand that time zones can have an effect on travel.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Many flights cross time zones, leading to discrepancies between the time in the air and that of destination airports.
  2. Some flights cross the International Date Line moving between the western and eastern hemispheres of the globe.
  3. Some countries, including the UK, adjust their time in certain seasons to maximise the hours of daylight.
  4. Interactive flight maps can be used to investigate the complex pattern of international flights.

Keywords

  • Eastern Hemisphere - The Eastern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that lies east between the Prime Meridian and the International Date Line.

  • Western Hemisphere - The Western Hemisphere is the half of Earth that lies west between the Prime Meridian and the International Date Line.

  • Daylight Saving Time - Daylight Saving Time is the practice of turning the time forward by one hour in Spring to make use of longer daylight hours and back to standard time in Autumn when there are fewer hours of daylight.

Common misconception

All journeys start in GMT.

This lesson only uses journeys that begin in GMT. This is to avoid any that start in the western hemisphere, cross the Prime Meridian and end in the eastern hemisphere, which are more complicated for KS2 pupils to understand using time zone maps.

Some pupils will require support with the mathematical concepts of time zones, including 24-hour time. Annotating a time zones map will help to visualise the departure and arrival destinations and the time zones they belong to. Using a globe will help pupils to understand hemispheres and the IDL.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Devices to access the internet.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
is a standard system that is used to set all of the world’s time zones.
the International Date Line
Correct answer: Universal Co-ordinated Time
British Summer Time
Q2.
On the opposite side of Earth to the Prime Meridian at 180° is the ...
Correct Answer: Antimeridian, International Date Line
Q3.
Places to the of the IDL are the first to experience a new day.
north
east
south
Correct answer: west
Q4.
West of the Prime Meridian, you four minutes for every degree of longitude.
Correct Answer: lose
Q5.
China geographically covers 4 time zones. How many does it use?
Correct answer: 1
2
3
4
Q6.
Order these countries based on when they begin a new day, starting with the first.
1 - New Zealand
2 - India
3 - UK
4 - Peru

6 Questions

Q1.
is the practice of turning the time forward by one hour in spring to make use of longer daylight hours and back to standard time in autumn when there are fewer hours of daylight.
Universal Co-ordinated Time (UTC)
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Correct answer: Daylight Saving Time
Q2.
The half of Earth west of the is known as the ‘Western Hemisphere’.
Correct Answer: Prime Meridian
Q3.
Which of these statements about the International Date Line are true?
Correct answer: It is is an imaginary line.
It is located at 0˚ longitude.
Correct answer: It is based on the Antimeridian.
Correct answer: It acts as a boundary between one day and the next.
Q4.
If you cross the International Date Line (IDL) moving east you must ...
Correct answer: subtract a day from the date.
keep the date the same.
add a day to the date.
Q5.
When you travel west across the IDL to the eastern hemisphere you a day.
Correct Answer: gain, get, add
Q6.
What do you need to consider when working out the time that an aeroplane will arrive at its destination?
Correct answer: the length of the flight
Correct answer: any time difference due to crossing time zones
how many how many people are on the plane