New
New
Year 6
Longitude and time zones
I can identify the Prime Meridian and understand time zones.
New
New
Year 6
Longitude and time zones
I can identify the Prime Meridian and understand time zones.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Time zones to the east of the Prime Meridian are ‘UTC (or GMT) plus’; time zones to the west are ‘minus UTC (or GMT)'.
- Webcams are a useful source of information about what is happening in places which are in different time zones.
- Earth is divided into 24 standard meridians, at intervals of 15˚, which are the basis for delineating 24 time zones.
- Time zones are measured from the Prime Meridian at 0˚ longitude, where the time is Universal Co-ordinated Time (UTC).
Keywords
Co-ordinated Universal Time - Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a standard system that is used to set all the world’s time zones.
Greenwich Mean Time - Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the time at the zero degree line of longitude, also known as the Prime Meridian.
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.
Common misconception
UTC and GMT are the same.
UTC is a time standard - an agreement to synchronise the worlds timings centres to this standard time. GMT is a time zone.
The pupils could add annotated screenshots from different web cams to a world map as part of a whole class time zones display.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Devices to access the internet to investigate live city webcams.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), 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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Starter quiz
Download starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
A is a map of Earth on a sphere.
atlas
axis
Q2.
Lines of longitude are imaginary lines on Earth showing position east or west of the , measured in degrees.
Equator
Tropic of Cancer
Q3.
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 ...
Q4.
Which statements about lines of longitude are true?
They are parallel.
Q5.
What is the name given to the red line of longitude shown on this globe?
Equator
Antimeridian
Q6.
The Antimeridian is located at longitude and runs through the Pacific Ocean.
0˚
90˚
360˚
Exit quiz
Download exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
Daylight happens when places face towards the ...
Q2.
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the average time when the sun crosses the at Greenwich in London.
Equator
Antimeridian
Q3.
Which of these is a standard system that is used to set all of the world’s time zones?
GMT
AM
Q4.
Time in countries to the east of the Prime Meridian is always that in the UK.
behind
the same as
Q5.
Time in countries to the west of the Prime Meridian is always ...
the same as the UK.
in front of the UK.
Q6.
If the UTC was 12:00 noon, which time zone do you think this webcam could be from?
+1
+3
Q6 CC BY 4.0 Deed Attribution 4.0 International