Science Common Sense

29 - Why do we have different time zones?

We have different time zones because the Earth is round and rotates once every 24 hours. Imagine a big ball divided into 24 equal parts. Each part is like a big slice, called a time zone.

As the Earth rotates, different parts of the planet face towards or away from the sun. When it's daytime in one area, it's nighttime in another area on the opposite side of the world. To make things easier and more organized, we created different time zones so that each area can have its own local time based on its location.

For example, if it's 3 PM in New York, it might be 12 PM in Los Angeles (which is on the other side of the United States) because they are in different time zones. This way, people in each area can have a schedule that matches their daylight hours and daily routines.