CALCULATING THE TIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANY TWO COUNTRIES

INTRODUCTION
The world is divided into 24 main time zones. These time zones are exactly one
hour apart. Countries compute their local time based on their longitude and position in
the International Date Line (IDL). The IDL is an imaginary longitude line located at
about 180 degrees east (or west) of the Greenwich Meridian. The IDL is shown as an
uneven black vertical line in the time zone map. It marks the area where the date changes
by one day. Traveling across the International Date Line results in a day being subtracted
and traveling west results in a day being added.
By international agreement, the meridian line through Greenwich, England is
currently assigned the value of 0 degrees longitude. This is also referred to as the Prime
Meridian. The lines of longitude are used to measure the time zones. Since there are 3600
of longitude and there are 24 hours in a day, then this means that an hour would be 150
longitude.
To determine the time of each country, the source would be the Coordinated
Universal Time (UTC) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Time Zones in Asia

Country Name Time Zone
Greenwich Mean Time UTC
London, England (Summer Time) UTC + 1 hour
Philippines UTC + 8 hours
Singapore UTC + 8 hours
Japan UTC + 9 hours

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ACTIVITY
Ms. Rose Jocelyn T. Talacan with her friends decided to visit Japan to experience
the winter and the beautiful cherry blossoms. If they departed Manila, Philippines at 9:35
a.m. and their flight would take 4 hours, what time will they arrive in Tokyo International
airport if Japan’s time is 1 hour ahead of Manila?

Guide questions:
1. What time did Ms. Talacan and her friends left Manila airport? How many hours
would be their entire travel? If the difference of time between Philippines and Japan
is 1 hour, what time will they arrive in Tokyo , Japan.
ANALYSIS
1. How do you find the activity? Is it interesting?
2. Were you able to find the exact time that they arrived in Tokyo, Japan?
3. What did you do first? Could you explain how did you come up with the results?
4. What helped your group in finding the correct output?
5. What insights have you gained from the activity?
Examples:
Complete the table. Use the current time in Manila, Philippines to find the corresponding time
in each country.
Country Name Time Zone Current Time
Manila, Philippines UTC + 8 9:25

Use the table to answer the following questions:

1. How many hours ahead is Manila than Korea?
2.

ABSTRACTION

A time zone is a region of the globe that observes a uniform standard time for legal,
commercial, and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries of countries
and their subdivisions because it is convenient for areas in close commercial or other
communication to keep the same time
It is important that our pupils know how to calculate time between time zones. Our pupils
may have relatives in other countries. Once they are familiar with time zone, they know
when is the right time for them to talk or converse with their relatives.
The International Date Line marks the area where the date changes by one day. Traveling
east across the IDL results in a day being added and trav eling west results in a day being
subtracted.

APPLICATION
When I called my Lola in Melbourne, Australia, I used the Time Zone Map to compare
the times between Marikina City and Melbourne. The time in Melbourne is 6 pm while the time
in Marikina City is 4:00 pm. How many hours ahead is Melbourne than Marikina City?
 Exercises
A. Use the time in Marikina City, Philippines 8:45 am to calculate the time difference
of the following countries. (Use the time zone map)
1. Korea
2. Peru
3. Singapore
4.
5.
B. Read and Solve
1. Mrs. Angeles, a grade 5 teacher in Concepcion Integrated SSchool is watching her
favorite TV show in Korea on cable TV. The show is aired at 8:35 in Korea. At what
time is the TV show aired in Marikina City?

C. Explain the rule on how to calculate the time difference between two different
countries.

CLOSURE
To calculate the time difference between any two countries it is important to use the Time
Zone Map. The time zone map will clearly help each pupil to see the time difference of any
country. The Coordinated Universal Time or the Greenwich Mean Time will always be the
reference time. From the UTC or GMT to the right will always be plus 1 hour while to the left
of UTC will always be minus 1 hour.