Question

With reference to the International Date Line,state the following:a)its meaning and application.b)The important deviations it makes and reasons for the same.c)Give an example of how time lost or gained is computed with reference to this line.

Answer 1

The International Date Line runs down the middle of the Pacific Ocean. If you cross the date line moving east, you subtract a day, whereas if you are movingwest you add a day. For example, if today is Friday and we crossed the International Date line from west to east then it would be Thursday.It is not a perfectly straight line and has been moved slightly over the years to accommodate needs (or requests) of varied countries in the Pacific Ocean. Note how it bends to include all of Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga and Tokelau in the EasternHemisphere.The International Date Line, established in 1884, passes through the mid-Pacific Ocean and roughly follows a 180 degrees longitude north-south line on the Earth. It is located halfway round the world from the prime meridian—the zero degrees longitude established in Greenwich, England, in 1852.