How_To_Be_Good_At_Math

Telling the time

Reading the time

We describe the time by saying which hour of the day it is and how many

minutes of that hour have passed. We can describe the number of minutes

past the hour that’s just gone, or how many minutes it is to the next hour.

MEASUREMENT • TELLING THE TIME

On the hour

When the minute hand is

pointing to 12, the time is on the

hour. We use the word “o’clock”.

This clock is showing 8 o’clock.

Half past an hour

When the minute hand

points to 6, the time is halfway

through an hour. The time on

this clock is half past two.

Minutes past an hour

We ususally describe other

times in multiples of 5, instead

of being very precise. The time on

this clock is 5 past 4. That means

it’s 5 minutes after 4 o’clock.

Minutes to an hour

When the minute hand goes

past the number 6, we say how

many minutes it is until the next

hour. This clock is showing

10 to 5.

Quarter past an hour

We can split hours into

quarters. When the minute

hand points to 3, we say it’s

quarter past the hour. This clock

is showing quarter past ten.

Quarter to an hour

Here the minute hand is

pointing to 9. Instead of saying it

is three-quarters past, we say it’s

quarter to the next hour. The time

on this clock is quarter to seven.

(^) ÷ (^60)
(^) ÷ (^60)
(^) ÷ (^24)
Hours (^) to days
Minut
es to hours
Seco
nds to minutes
Converting × 60 × (^60) × 24
seconds, minutes,
hours, and days
There are 60 seconds in a
minute, 60 minutes in an
hour, and 24 hours in a
day. So, converting time is
harder than for other units
where we can multiply or
divide by 10, 100, or 1000.
To convert 6 hours
to days, we divide
by 24, which gives 0.25
days. To convert days to
hours, we multiply by 24.
To convert 360 minutes
to hours, we divide by
60, which gives 6 hours.
To convert hours to minutes,
we multiply by 60.
To convert 21 600 seconds
to minutes, we divide by
60, which gives 360 minutes.
To convert minutes to
seconds, we multiply by 60.
21 600 sec 360 min 6 h 0.25 days
Minutes^ to^ seconds Hours^ to^ minutes Days^ to^ hours
The minute
hand is halfway
round the clock,
so it is half
past the hour
5 minutes
have gone by
since 4 o’clock
There are
15 minutes
left until the
next hour
192-193_Telling_the_time.indd 193 29/02/2016 18:04