Question

If you took a plane and left Oregon on October 17th, and traveled east across the international date line to Japan, what day would it be when you arrived in Japan?

A) October 17th
B) October 18th
C) October 19th
D) October 20th

Answer 1

Traveling from Oregon to Japan across the International Date Line results in gaining a day, so if you leave Oregon on October 17th, it will be October 18th upon arrival in Japan.

Step-by-step explanation:

If you leave Oregon on October 17th, and travel east across the International Date Line to Japan, you would actually 'lose' a day. Whenever you cross the date line from west to east, you need to add a day to your current date, because you are moving into a timezone where the date is one day ahead. Hence, when you arrive in Japan, it will be October 18th.

The International Date Line is a convention to maintain a consistent system of timekeeping globally. Since Japan is ahead of Oregon in terms of time zones, crossing the date line eastward causes the date to advance by one. As you travel and pass through different time zones, your sense of time changes due to the different local times. The same phenomenon happened historically on December 7, 1941, in the United States, which corresponds to December 8 in Japan due to the date line's influence.