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Year 3 Maths Time

Tell time to the minute (analog)

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Theory

Telling time to the minute on an analog clock is a Year 3 skill: reading the short hour hand and the long minute hand to name the time. Each number on the clock is 5 minutes, so you count by fives and then add single minutes. This page shows how to read minutes past and minutes to the hour, including o'clock, quarter past, half past and quarter to. Curriculum: VC2M3M04 / AC9M3M04.

An analog clock has two hands that move around a round face. The short hand is the hour hand and the long hand is the minute hand. The hour hand tells you the hour; the minute hand tells you the minutes.

The 12 numbers split the clock into steps of 5 minutes. Starting from the 12 and going clockwise, the 1 is 5 minutes, the 2 is 10 minutes, the 3 is 15 minutes, and so on. The small marks between the numbers are single minutes.

To read a time you count the minutes past the hour, like 20 past 7. Some times have special names: o'clock (minute hand on the 12), quarter past (on the 3, 15 minutes), half past (on the 6, 30 minutes) and quarter to (on the 9, 15 minutes before the next hour).

Each numeral has two jobs. For the hour hand, the 4 means 4 o'clock. For the minute hand, the 4 means \(4 \times 5 = 20\) minutes. Once the minute hand is past the 6, we often say the minutes to the next hour instead, by counting on from the minute hand up to the 12.

Analog clock showing 3:40 (twenty to four) A round clock face with numerals 1 to 12. The short hour hand sits between 3 and 4; the long minute hand points to the 8, which is 40 minutes. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
The short hour hand is between 3 and 4; the long minute hand points to the 8, so the time is 3:40 (twenty to four).
Clock face showing the minute value at each numeral A round clock face with numerals 1 to 12 and small grey numbers inside showing the minute value at each numeral: 5 at the 1, 10 at the 2, 15 at the 3, and so on up to 55, then 0 at the 12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 0
Each number is 5 minutes. Count by fives around the clock: 5, 10, 15, and on to 55.

These facts help you turn the hands into minutes.

\[ 1 \text{ number} = 5 \text{ minutes} \]
1 number =5 minutes
\[ 60 \text{ minutes} = 1 \text{ hour} \]
60 minutes =1 hour
\[ \text{quarter past} = 15 \text{ minutes} \]
quarter past =15 minutes
\[ \text{half past} = 30 \text{ minutes} \]
half past =30 minutes
\[ \text{quarter to} = 45 \text{ minutes past} \]
quarter to =45 minutes past
Past or to? When the minute hand has gone past the 6, you can count on to the next hour and say the minutes to. For example, 40 minutes past 5 is the same as 20 minutes to 6.

How to read an analog clock to the minute

  1. Read the hour. Find the short hand and see which number it has just passed. That number is the hour.
  2. Count the minutes. Find the long hand. Count by fives to the number it is near (5, 10, 15, ...), then count on the single marks.
  3. Say the time. Say the minutes past the hour, like 26 minutes past 4. If the minute hand is past the 6, you can count on to the next hour and say the minutes to.

How to say minutes to the hour

  1. Find the minutes past. Read the minute hand as minutes past the hour, like 40 minutes past 5.
  2. Take them away from 60. \(60 - 40 = 20\), so there are 20 minutes to go.
  3. Use the next hour. Say the minutes to the hour the short hand is heading towards: 40 minutes past 5 is twenty to 6.

How long between two times in the same hour

  1. Read both minute-hand positions as minutes past the hour.
  2. Count on by fives from the first numeral to the second, or take the smaller number of minutes from the bigger one.
Example 1 — Minutes past
What time does this clock show?
Analog clock showing 7:20 (twenty past seven) The short hour hand is just past the 7; the long minute hand points to the 4, which is 20 minutes past. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Solution
\(\text{minute hand}\)\(\to\)\(4\)
\(5, 10, 15, 20\)\(=\)\(20\text{ min}\)
20 minutes past 7

The time is twenty past 7.

Example 2 — To the minute
What time is it, read to the minute?
Analog clock showing 9:17 (seventeen minutes past nine) The short hour hand is just past the 9; the long minute hand is two little marks past the 3, which is 17 minutes past. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Solution
\(3\)\(\to\)\(15\text{ min}\)
\(15 + 2\)\(=\)\(17\text{ min}\)
15 + 2 = 17 minutes past 9

The minute hand is 2 marks past the 3, so it is 17 minutes past 9.

Example 3 — Minutes to
Read this clock as minutes to the hour.
Analog clock showing 5:40 (twenty to six) The short hour hand is between 5 and 6; the long minute hand points to the 8, which is 40 minutes past, or 20 minutes to the next hour. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Solution
\(\text{minute hand} \to 8\)\(=\)\(40\text{ min}\)
\(60 - 40\)\(=\)\(20\text{ to the hour}\)
60-40=20 minutes to 6

The time is twenty to 6.

Example 4 — Quarter past
What time does this clock show?
Analog clock showing 11:15 (quarter past eleven) The short hour hand is just past the 11; the long minute hand points to the 3, which is 15 minutes past, a quarter of the way around. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Solution
\(\text{minute hand} \to 3\)\(=\)\(15\text{ min}\)
\(15\text{ min}\)\(=\)\(\text{quarter past}\)
15 minutes past 11 = quarter past 11

The time is quarter past 11.

Example 5 — Minutes to, to the minute
Read this clock. How many minutes past 10 is it, and how many minutes to 11?
Analog clock showing 10:54 (six minutes to eleven) The short hour hand is nearly at the 11; the long minute hand is four little marks past the 10, which is 54 minutes past 10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Solution
\(10\)\(\to\)\(50\text{ min}\)
\(50 + 4\)\(=\)\(54\text{ min past}\)
\(60 - 54\)\(=\)\(6\text{ min to }11\)
60 - 54 = 6 minutes to 11

It is 54 minutes past 10, which is the same as 6 minutes to 11.

Example 6 — How long?
A game starts when the minute hand is on the 2 and ends when it is on the 9, in the same hour. How long is the game?
Solution
\(2\)\(\to\)\(10\text{ min past}\)
\(9\)\(\to\)\(45\text{ min past}\)
\(45 - 10\)\(=\)\(35\text{ min}\)
45 - 10 = 35 minutes

Counting by fives from the 2 to the 9 is 7 jumps of 5, so the game lasts 35 minutes.

Common pitfalls

Which hand is which? Watch out for mixing up the hands. The short hand is the hour and the long hand is the minutes.
Each number is 5 minutes, not 1. When the minute hand points to the 4 it means 20 minutes past, not 4 minutes past.
Read the hour the short hand has just passed. Near the end of an hour the short hand almost touches the next number. At twenty to 6 the short hand is close to the 6, but the hour is still 5.

Frequently asked questions

How do you tell time to the minute on an analog clock?

Read the short hour hand for the hour, then look at the long minute hand. Count by fives to the number it is near, then count on the single marks to get the exact minutes past the hour.

Which hand is the hour hand?

The hour hand is the short hand. The minute hand is the long hand. The short hand tells you the hour and the long hand tells you the minutes.

What does each number on a clock mean in minutes?

Each number is 5 minutes apart. The 1 is 5 minutes, the 2 is 10 minutes, the 3 is 15 minutes, and so on up to 55 at the 11.

What is quarter past and quarter to?

Quarter past is 15 minutes after the hour, when the minute hand points to the 3. Quarter to is 15 minutes before the next hour, when the minute hand points to the 9.

When do you say minutes to the hour?

Once the minute hand goes past the 6, the time is often read as minutes to the next hour. For example, 50 minutes past 8 is the same as ten to 9.

How many minutes are in one hour?

There are 60 minutes in one hour. One full turn of the minute hand all the way around the clock takes 60 minutes.

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