The time zone map
A world map with the 24 theoretical time zones, each zone's number along the top, the Prime Meridian and the International Date Line, and the exercise's cities labelled.
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Teaching guide: time zones
The Earth turns a full 360° in 24 hours, so it turns 15° every hour. That is why the world is divided into 24 time zones, each 15° of longitude wide, counted from the Prime Meridian at Greenwich. This free time zones worksheet generator creates A4 worksheets with a time zone map and exercises to find a city's time zone, the time difference between two cities, the time in another city, a flight's local arrival time and the hours two offices share, with a step-by-step answer key.
- For
- Elementary 6th · Middle & High 7th, 8th (ages 11-13)
- Subject
- History & Society › Maps & Cartography
- Includes
- Student sheet and answer key
- Format
- A4, to print or save as PDF; new exercises every time
- Price
- Free, no sign-up
- Available in
- Catalan, Spanish, English
Student worksheet 
Answer key From the map to the longitude
At level 1 the zone is read on the map; at level 2 it is worked out by dividing the longitude by 15 and rounding.
Official time
At level 3, each city's official standard time (no daylight saving): half-hour zones such as India's, and countries that do not use their theoretical zone, such as Spain.
Changing the day
When adding or taking away hours goes past midnight, the answer is the day before or the next day; at level 3, with the day of the week.
Flights and calls
A flight's local arrival time from its departure and flight time, and the hours when two offices in different zones can talk.
Worked answer key
Every answer with its working: the zones subtracted, the hours added or taken away and the arrival day, ready to mark in class.
Frequently asked questions about the time zone worksheets
How do you work out the time in another city?
Subtract the two cities' zones to get the time difference, then add or take away those hours: if the city whose time you want is further east, add them; if it is further west, take them away. If it is 10:00 in Madrid (zone +1), it is 10:00 + 8 h = 18:00 in Tokyo (zone +9).
How do you find a city's time zone from its longitude?
Divide the longitude by 15 and round: Tokyo is at 140° E, and 140 ÷ 15 ≈ 9.3, so it is in zone +9. Longitudes east give positive zones and longitudes west, negative ones. The worksheets only ask about cities that are not close to the edge of a zone, so there is never any doubt.
Why does Spain use UTC+1 when it lies in the Greenwich zone?
By its meridian, almost all of mainland Spain is in zone 0, Greenwich's, but Spain's official time has been that of zone +1 since 1940. Theoretical zones follow the meridians, while official times follow borders and each country's decisions; level 3 of the time zone exercise works on this.
What is the International Date Line?
It is the 180° meridian, in the Pacific Ocean. Crossing it going west you move one day forward on the calendar, and crossing it going east you go one day back. That is why a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles can land on the same day, or even earlier, than the time it left.
Why is daylight saving time left out?
Because each country changes its clocks on different dates (and many never do). The worksheets always use official standard time and say so on the sheet, so every answer is unique.
Which grades are they for?
Grades 7 and 8 (ages 12 to 14), when the Earth's movements and time zones are taught. Level 1 can be done in Grade 6 after latitude and longitude. For reading clocks and units of time there are the telling time and units of time worksheets; more resources in history and geography worksheets.
How do I print only the answer key?
Press Print and choose “Answer key”, or “Worksheet and answer key” for everything. You can also save it as a PDF from your browser's print dialog. The worksheets are made in your browser and no data is sent anywhere.
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