What causes the time difference between Lamu at 40°E and Tunis at 10°E?
- The rotation of the Earth
- The revolution of the Earth
- The difference in their latitudes
- Both rotation and revolution
Show answer and solution
Correct answer: A. The rotation of the Earth
1. Local time depends on when the Sun crosses a place's meridian.
2. The Earth spinning on its axis is what carries each meridian past the Sun in turn, so rotation is the cause.
3. The difference in longitude is how the size of the gap is calculated, but it is not the cause of it.
4. Revolution around the Sun produces seasons, aphelion and perihelion, eclipses, and varying day lengths — not the hour-to-hour time difference.
5. Latitude plays no part in local time at all, so mistaking the 40° and 10° for latitudes was a recorded error.
_Source: NECTA CSEE 2021 Geography 013, Question 1: Multiple Choice Items, item (vi)_