Lesson 6.1 · Time and Money
Telling time to 5 minutes
You can read a clock on the hour and at half past. But the bus might come at 8:15, and a show might start at 4:25. Let's read the clock to the nearest 5 minutes.
Count by 5s around the clock
Look at the long hand, the minute hand. It takes 60 minutes to go all the way around.
The clock has 12 numbers. The minute hand moves 5 minutes from one number to the next. So you count by 5s:
| Minute hand points to | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minutes after the hour | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 0 |
It is just like counting by 5s on a number line.
Reading a clock to 5 minutes
- Find the hour. It is the number the short hand just passed.
- Find the minutes. Count by 5s from 12 to the minute hand.
- Write the hour, a colon, then the minutes.
Quarter past and quarter to
At 15 minutes after, the minute hand has gone a quarter of the way around. We call it quarter past. At 45 minutes after, there is a quarter hour left. We call it quarter to the next hour.
Worked example: Quarter past
The short hand just passed 2. The long hand points to 3. Count 5, 10, 15. It is 2:15, or quarter past 2.
Worked example: Many minutes
The short hand is between 9 and 10, so the hour is 9. The long hand points to 8. Count by 5s: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40. It is 9:40.
Worked example: Just before the hour
The short hand is almost on 7. But it has not reached 7 yet, so the hour is still 6. The long hand points to 11. That is 55 minutes. It is 6:55.
Common mistake
Don't read the number the long hand points to as the minutes. When the long hand points to 4, it is 20 minutes, not 4. Count by 5s!
Tip
Write minutes less than 10 with a zero in front. Five minutes after 3 is 3:05, not 3:5.
Practice
What time is it? Write it like 4:25.
Type your answer
The long hand points to 7. How many minutes after the hour is it?
Type a number.
What time is it? Write it like 4:25.
Type your answer
What time does this clock show?
It is 5:50. Which number does the long hand point to?
Type a number.
Which time is quarter past 8?
What time is it? Write it like 4:25.
Type your answer
Sam says this clock shows 12:35. What time does it really show?