Why does each time zone extend 7 1/2 degrees on each side of central meridian rather than extending from 0 degrees to 15 degree?

http://www.google.com/search?q=time+zones+latitude&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

There are several good sites here to research the answer for your question.

=)