Final answer:
Arizona time is ahead of Alaska time. Even though Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time, it's physically situated to the east of Alaska, which places it in an earlier time zone as per the conventional time zone layout of the United States.
Step-by-step explanation:
Arizona time is ahead of Alaska time. In the United States, including its territories like Alaska, time is divided into multiple time zones. Arizona is part of the Mountain Time Zone, while Alaska has its own time zone, which is called Alaska Time. As you travel from west to east in the United States, you enter into later time zones, meaning that the clocks show a later hour. Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time, but even so, Alaska time is behind Arizona time because Alaska is geographically west of Arizona.
Arizona's standard time is aligned with the Mountain Time Zone which is two hours ahead of Alaska Standard Time. It's important to note that the continental U.S. has four main time zones—Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Alaska, being farther west than these zones, operates on an even earlier time.
The International Date Line also plays a role in global time keeping, especially for travel. As a general rule, time advances as you move eastward. When traveling around the world, time zones change approximately every 15 degrees of longitude, or about one hour for each zone you move through. This also affects Alaska and Arizona, where Arizona is ahead in time compared to Alaska.