Set D - UPSC Prelims 2025 Solutions

QQuestion

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?

OOptions

A) All the five

B) Only four

C) Only three

D) Only two

✓Correct Answer

D) Only two

DDalvoy Solutions

Only two countries among the listed have more than four time zones:

I. United Kingdom: No, UK operates on a single time zone (GMT/BST) despite spanning multiple meridians.

II. Denmark: No, Denmark uses a single time zone (CET/CEST) for its mainland, though it has territories like Greenland with different time zones.

III. New Zealand: No, New Zealand has only two time zones - one for the main islands and one for Chatham Islands.

IV. Australia: Yes, Australia has multiple time zones across its continental territory - usually three main zones during standard time and can have up to five during daylight saving periods.

V. Brazil: Yes, Brazil spans four time zones across its vast territory from east to west, making it one of the few countries with more than four time zones.

Therefore, only Australia and Brazil have more than four time zones.

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SUPSC Prelims Strategy and Tips

For time zone questions, consider the east-west extent of countries. Large countries spanning significant longitude differences typically have multiple time zones, while smaller countries often use single time zones for convenience.

SUPSC Prelims 2025 Syllabus Analysis

Geography - Time zones and longitudinal extent of countries

AUPSC Prelims 2025 Question Analysis

Medium difficulty - requires knowledge of global time zone distribution and country-specific time policies

Question 6

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