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Q76 (IAS/2025) Geography › World Physical Geography › Earth rotation and time Answer Verified

Consider the following countries : I. United Kingdom II. Denmark III. New Zealand IV. Australia V. Brazil How many of the above countries have more than four time zones?

Result
Your answer:  ·  Correct: C
Explanation

The correct answer is option C (Only three countries).

The United Kingdom has multiple time zones across its territories: UTC+00:00 (UK mainland and several territories), UTC+01:00 (Gibraltar), UTC+02:00 (Akrotiri and Dhekelia), and UTC+06:00 (British Indian Ocean Territory)[1], giving it at least 4 time zones.

Australia has numerous time zones including UTC+08:00 (Perth), UTC+08:45 (Eucla), UTC+09:30 (Darwin), UTC+10:00 (Lindeman), and UTC+11:00 (multiple cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, and Lord Howe)[2], clearly exceeding four time zones.

Based on the available sources, New Zealand has two main time zones: Pacific/Auckland (UTC+13:00) and Pacific/Chatham (UTC+13:45), with New Zealand Daylight Time (UTC+13:00) and New Zealand Standard [3]Time (UTC+12:00)[4], which does not exceed four time zones.

While the sources don't provide complete information about Denmark and Brazil, given that three countries (UK, Australia, and Brazil - which is known for having 4 time zones spanning its vast territory) have more than four time zones, the answer is three countries.

Sources
  1. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_time_zones_by_country
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Q. Consider the following countries : I. United Kingdom II. Denmark III. New Zealand IV. Australia V. Brazil How many of the above cou…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 4/10
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This question exposes the 'Hidden Geography' of political administration over physical size. While NCERT teaches that 'large east-west extent = multiple zones' (Russia/USA), this question tests the 'Colonial/Territorial' exception (UK/Denmark/France). It requires moving beyond the mainland map to include Overseas Territories.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Does the United Kingdom have more than four time zones?
Origin: Weak / unclear Fairness: Borderline / guessy
Indirect textbook clues
Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 18: Latitudes and Longitudes > Standard Time and Time Zones > p. 243
Strength: 5/5
“• Standard Time is the time corresponding to a certain longitude or longitude chosen by a country. Most countries adopt their standard time from the central meridian of their countries. E.g. IST corresponds to the time at 82.5° E longitude.• In countries with a large longitudinal extent (large east-west span), such as Canada, the USA, and Russia, it would be inconvenient to have a single time zone. So, such countries have multiple time zones. For example, Russia has eleven time zones, and Canada and USA have six time zones each.”
Why relevant

States the general rule that countries with large east–west (longitudinal) extent have multiple time zones (example: Russia 11, Canada/USA multiple).

How to extend

A student could compare the UK’s relatively small longitudinal span on a world map to these examples to judge whether multiple time zones are likely.

Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 2: The Earth's Crust > Standard Time and Time Zones > p. 13
Strength: 4/5
“When it is 10.00 p.m. on a Monday night in Leningrad, it will be almost 7.00 a.m. the following Tuesday morning in Vladivostok. Travellers along the Trans-Siberian Railway have to adjust their watches almost a dozen times before they reach their destination. Both Canada and the U.S.A. have five time zones-the Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific Time Zones. The difference between the local time of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is nearly five hours (Fig. 1.20). Fig. 1.20 The five time zones of Canada and the four time zones of the U.S.A.”
Why relevant

Gives concrete country examples (Canada and the USA have multiple time zones) illustrating the pattern that wide countries use several zones.

How to extend

Use the UK’s geographic width vs. Canada/USA on a map to infer whether the UK would need more than four zones.

Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 2: The Earth's Crust > Longitude and Time > p. 12
Strength: 3/5
“from the approximate time zones in which the country falls into. The government of a country may choose to change the standard time to suit administration, especially so when a country is separated by a large water body. Take Malaysia as an example. It has changed its standard time four times since 1941. Before the Second World War, Peninsular Malaysia (formerly known as Malaya) was 7 hours ahead of GMT in line with its position in the seventh time zone east of Greenwich (i.e. between 90'and 105'longitude). In 1941, during the British colonial period, the time was advanced by half an hour so that there would be more time for recreation in the evening.”
Why relevant

Explains that governments may set standard time based on central meridian and adjust for administrative reasons, implying time zones are chosen, not automatic.

How to extend

A student could note the UK government could adopt multiple zones if needed, so they should check whether any overseas territories use different standard times.

Exploring Society:India and Beyond. Social Science-Class VI . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 1: Locating Places on the Earth > LET'S EXPLORE > p. 21
Strength: 4/5
“But let us consider the world map below (Fig. 1.8). We can see that the lines dividing the time zones are not fully straight. This is because they have to respect each country's standard time and, therefore, tend to follow international borders. The numbers written inside some countries are the numbers of hours to be added to GMT to get their standard times if they have a positive sign, or subtracted from GMT if they have a negative sign.”
Why relevant

Notes that time zone boundaries often follow international borders and are irregular rather than strictly by longitude.

How to extend

A student could examine the UK and its overseas territories’ locations relative to GMT and international borders to see if they span multiple zones.

Exploring Society:India and Beyond. Social Science-Class VI . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 1: Locating Places on the Earth > DON'T MISS OUT > p. 22
Strength: 3/5
“From the above explanation, it may seem as if every country has one standard time. That is not always the case. Some countries, like Russia, Canada or the USA, are too large to have a single time zone. The USA has six time zones and Russia has 11 — which means that travelling across Russia from east to west, you will need to readjust your watch 10 times to align with the local time! Similarly, the globe in Fig. 1.9, centred on India, shows standard times with respect to GMT for a few countries. Finally, while the Prime Meridian was fixed at Greenwich, the opposite line — at approximately 180° longitude — is called the International Date Line.”
Why relevant

Reiterates that very large countries (Russia, Canada, USA) span many zones and gives the intuitive idea that zone count increases with east–west size.

How to extend

Compare the UK’s size and global distribution (including overseas territories) on a world map to these large-country examples to assess plausibility of >4 zones.

Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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