Question

How many time zones are there in the United States?
A. 2
B. 5
C. 3
D. 6

Answer 1

Hint: Time zone may be simply defined as a range of longitudes where a common standard time is used. These are regions on the globe that observe the same standard time. The local time in a given time zone is defined by its offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is the primary time standard used throughout the world.

Complete Answer:
In total there are six (6) time zones in the United States of America. Those can be enumerated as follows:
Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone:This time zone has derived its name from two areas, Hawaii and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. These two areas do not use daylight saving time. Some of the major metropolitan areas under this time zone include Honolulu, Hilo, and Kapaa.
Alaska Time Zone: This time zone encompasses almost the entire state of Alaska. The clock time in the Alaska Time Zone is based on the mean solar time at 135 degrees west of Greenwich Observatory.
Pacific Time Zone: This time zone encompasses the western states of the US, western Mexico, and western Canada. The standard time within this zone is observed by subtracting 8 hours from UTC (UTC-8). PST is one hour ahead of Hawaii and Alaska Time Zones, and at least one hour behind the other time zones.
Mountain Time Zone: This time zone observes standard time by subtracting 7 hours from UTC and 6 hours from DST. In the US, this time zone is generally known as Mountain Time (MT). The five states that are included within the Mt are Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana.
Central Time Zone: This time zone encompasses nine states in the US, the Canadian province of Manitoba, and most of Mexico. It is observed by subtracting six hours from UTC (UTC-06:00). Most of the zone uses DST during summer and changes to Central Daylight Time (CDT), which is 5 hours behind UTC.
Eastern Time Zone: The Eastern Time Zone (ET) encompasses almost all the 22 states in the eastern United States. Places within this time zone are 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Thus, the correct answer is option, ‘D. 6’.

Note: The time zones in this country are often referred to by their generic names, without making a difference between standard time and Daylight Saving Time (DST). In total there are 9 official time zones according to the law.