Time
Primary 4 · Mathematics
Time
Lesson 1 of 5
20 min
Let's begin
Ishimwe's grandmother has an old clock with hands on the wall. Ishimwe's big brother has a phone that shows only numbers.
"It is 7:35," says the phone. Ishimwe looks at the wall clock. Where are the hands pointing?
Today you will read the time on both kinds of clock, to the exact minute.
An analogue clock has a face with numbers and hands. A digital clock shows numbers only, like 7:35. The number before the colon is the hour. The number after the colon is the minutes.
The short hand is the hour hand. It moves slowly, from one number to the next in one hour. When it is between two numbers, the hour is the number it has just passed.
The long hand is the minute hand. Around the clock there are 60 small marks, one for each minute in an hour. From one number to the next is 5 minutes.
So count the long hand in fives: at the 1 it is 5 minutes past, at the 2 it is 10, at the 3 it is 15, and so on up to 60.
Worked example 1
In the first clock, the short hand is between 7 and 8, so the hour is 7. The long hand points at the 7: 7 × 5 = 35 minutes. The time is 7:35.
Worked example 2
In the second clock, the short hand has just passed 3. The long hand is 2 small marks after the 4. Count 5, 10, 15, 20, then 21, 22. The time is 3:22.
Careful! In the first clock the short hand is past the middle between 7 and 8, but it has not reached the 8. The hour is still 7.
On a digital clock, the minutes always have two digits. Five minutes past nine is 9:05, not 9:5.
Tip
Short hand, hour. Long hand, minutes. Count the long hand in fives at each number, then in ones for the small marks after it.
Work each one in your exercise book first. Then tap Show answer to check.
The long hand points at the 9. How many minutes past the hour is it?
Answer: 45 minutes, because 9 × 5 = 45.
The short hand is between 10 and 11. The long hand points at the 4. What time is it?
Answer: 10:20. The hour hand has passed 10, and 4 × 5 = 20 minutes.
Write "quarter to 6" as a digital time.
Answer: 5:45. Quarter to 6 is 15 minutes before 6.
How do you read 2:50 using "to"?
Answer: 10 minutes to 3, because 60 − 50 = 10.
The long hand is 3 small marks after the 6. How many minutes is that?
Answer: 33 minutes. 6 × 5 = 30, then 31, 32, 33.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
The stories, Rwandan examples, drawings and practice questions were written by Ganzaa.
Quick check
The long hand points at the 8. How many minutes past the hour is it?
