Boxi Learn › Geography › Stage 2 · Models and Patterns
Why is it night in New York when it's day in Beijing?
GEO-3 The Earth is movingX-3 Look from another side
What many people think
When it is daytime for me, it is daytime everywhere.
The idea
Earth turns 15° every hour, so every 15° of longitude is one hour of sun time; time zones round this to whole hours and follow borders.
Explain it
A friend in Beijing wants to video-call a cousin in New York after school at 17:00. Explain why the cousin might still be in bed, using the 15°-per-hour rule.
Try at home
In a dark room, shine a torch at a ball (or an orange with a sticker on it). Turn the ball slowly from west to east and count how far the sticker turns before it comes back into the light.