Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements.
I. Anadyr in Siberia and Nome in Alaska are a few kilometers from each other, but when people are waking up and getting set for breakfast in these cities, it would be different days.
II. When it is Monday in Anadyr, it is Tuesday in Nome.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
I only
II only
Both I and II
Neither I nor II
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
This question is based on the International Date Line, local time and the geographical positions of Siberia and Alaska.
Statement I is correct.
Anadyr is situated in the far eastern part of Russia, while Nome is situated in western Alaska. The two cities lie in the Bering Sea region on opposite sides of the International Date Line.
The International Date Line broadly follows 180° longitude, but deviates at several places to accommodate political and island boundaries.
An area situated west of the Date Line is one calendar day ahead of an area situated to its east.
Anadyr follows UTC+12. Nome follows UTC−9 during Alaska Standard Time and UTC−8 during daylight saving time.
Anadyr is consequently usually 21 hours ahead of Nome and 20 hours ahead during daylight saving time. Therefore, when people at both places wake up according to their respective local morning times, their calendar dates can be different.
Therefore, Statement I is correct.
Statement II is incorrect.
Anadyr is ahead of Nome; Nome is not ahead of Anadyr.
Therefore, when it is Monday in Anadyr, it cannot be Tuesday in Nome. For most of that period, it would still be Sunday in Nome, followed later by Monday.
When the International Date Line is crossed eastwards from Russia towards Alaska, one calendar day is subtracted.
Therefore, Statement II is incorrect.
Important factual clarification concerning the distance
The expression “a few kilometers” in the question should not be interpreted as the literal distance between the two cities. Anadyr and Nome are actually approximately 800 kilometres apart. The shortest distance of approximately 55 miles or 89 kilometres is between the nearest mainland points of Russia and Alaska. The central intention of Statement I is that the cities are relatively close within the Bering region but lie on opposite sides of the International Date Line.