What is Time?
Time can be considered as a series of events that occur one after another. Tracking time helps us keep a record of the events that have already happened in the past, the events that are happening right now, and events that will happen in the future.
Every day we perform certain tasks at the exact same time. We have breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon, and dinner in the evening. We also measure time to keep track of the changes around us. We know exactly when the Sun rises and sets because we measure time. Similarly, we know exactly when school starts and ends because we keep track of time at school.
How is Time Measured?
Time is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, and years. We use a clock or a watch to track time in seconds, minutes, and hours. There are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day. Half or 12 of those hours make up AM or the morning (12 midnight to 12 noon) and the other half or the next 12 hours make up PM or afternoon and evening (12 noon to 12 midnight).
Analog Clock and Digital Clock
We use an analog clock or a digital clock to keep track of time.
An analog clock has some numbers, little dashes, and 2 hands: an hour hand and a minute hand. The shorter hand is known as the hour hand and the longer hand is known as the minute hand. The numbers represent each hour of the day, and the little dashes represent the minutes in an hour.
In a digital clock, the hour and the minute are separated by a ‘:’. The number on the left side of the ‘:’ represents the hour and the number on the right side of the ‘:’ represents the minutes. Most digital clocks have an AM/PM indicator.
Telling Time to the Nearest Five Minutes
A minute is a period of time equal to 60 seconds. And 60 minutes make up an hour. The time spent on activities like bathing, eating, and so on are usually measured in minutes.
An analogue clock has 60 small dashes that represent 60 minutes. The minute hand moves from one dash to the next dash in 1 minute. It takes 5 minutes for the minute hand to move from one number to the next number. So, we can tell time by looking at the position of the hour and minute hands of an analog clock.
In this clock, the hour hand is between 5 and 6. That means it is past 5 o’clock, but it is not 6 o’clock yet. The minute hand at 5. Since the minute hand moves from one number to the next number in 5 minutes, it should take 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 25 minutes for the minute hand to move from 12 to 5.
So, the time on this analog clock is 5:25. Let’s consider another example.
Here, the hour hand is between 8 and 9, and the minute hand is at 11. That means it is past 8 o’clock, but it is not 9 o’clock yet. The minute hand is at 11. We know that the minute hand takes 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 55 minutes to move from 12 to 11.
So, the time on this analog clock is 8:55.
After 5 minutes, the time will be 9:00.
Telling Time Before and After an Hour
We can tell time in two ways. In the first method, we can read out the hour followed by the minute as seen on the clock. For example, 8:15, 9:25, 3:40, and so on. Another way to tell time is to relate it to the nearest hour. An hour is a period of time that is equal to 60 minutes. And 24 hours add up to 1 day. We usually use hours to measure the length of a movie, the time taken to travel between cities, the time employees spend at their workplace, and so on.
When telling time by referring to the nearest hour, we need to keep in mind that 15 minutes is equivalent to a quarter of an hour and 30 minutes is equivalent to half an hour. For example, 8:15 can be read as 15 minutes after 8 or quarter past 8. In this case, the nearest hour is 8.
Similarly, 10:45 can be read as 15 minutes before 11 or quarter to 11. Here, we choose 11 instead of 10 because the hour hand is nearer to 11. Note that the minute hand will reach 12, and the time will be 11:00 in exactly 15 minutes.
If the minute hand is exactly between two hours, that is, if it points to 6 like when it is 5:30, we read the time as 30 minutes after 5 or half past 5. So, we always refer time to the current hour when the minute hand is pointing at 6.
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Solved Examples
Example 1: Write the time on these clocks:
a. 
b. 
c. 
Solution:
a. 
The hour hand points between the 4 and the minute hand points at 5. So, it is past 4 o’clock, but it is not 5 o’clock yet. The minute hand points at the 5.
So, it has been 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 minutes since it has been 4 o’clock. That means the minute hand is pointing at the 25th minute.
Therefore, the time is 4:25.
b. 
The hour hand points between the 7 and the 8. So, it is past 7 o’clock, but it is not 8 o’clock yet. The minute hand points at the 8.
So, it has been 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 minutes since it has been 7 o’clock. That means the minute hand is pointing at the 40th minute.
Therefore, the time is 7:40.
c. 
The hour hand and the minute hand point at 12. So, the time is 12:00
Example 2: What is the time that comes next in the following pattern?
Solution:
The difference between the time on each clock is 5 minutes.
We get 8:20 when we add 5 minutes to 8:15.
We get 8:25 when we add 5 minutes to 8:20.
We get 8:30 when we add 5 minutes to 8:25.
So, the time on the 4th clock should be 8:30.
Example 3: Douglas is taking a math test and his teacher announces that the test will conclude in 45 minutes. If the current time is 11:40, what time is the test supposed to end?
Solution:
The current time is 11:40.
We need to find what time it will be after 45 minutes.
We need to add 45 minutes to the current time (11:40). The time on the clock will be 12 o’clock if we add 20 minutes to the current time. The remaining time to be added is 25 minutes. So, the final time on the clock will be 12:25.
Therefore, the test concludes at 12:25.
Example 4: Ted’s football practice starts at 7:45. If he reaches the training ground 20 minutes before 8, is he on time for the practice session?
Solution:
The football practice starts at 7:45.
Ted reached the training ground 20 minutes before 8.
Since he reached 20 minutes before 8 o’clock, he reached at 7:40. That means Ted arrived 5 minutes early for his football practice.
Example 5: Write the time by referring to the nearest hour.
a. 
b. 
Solution:
a. The time on the clock is 6:25. The nearest hour to this time is the 6th hour. And it has been 25 minutes since it has been 6 o’clock. So, the time is 25 minutes past 6.
b. The time on the clock is 9:45. The nearest hour to this time is the 10th hour. The time will be 10 o’clock in 15 minutes or a quarter of an hour. So, the time is 15 minutes before 10 or quarter to 10.
Example 6: Meghan’s favorite TV show started at quarter past 9. She went to bed when it was quarter to 9. Did she catch her favorite TV show?
Solution:
Time at which the TV show started: quarter past 9 or 9:15.
Time at which Meghan went to bed: quarter to 9.
Quarter to 9 is the same as 15 minutes to 9. Meghan fell asleep when it was 15 minutes before 9 o’clock.
So, Meghan went to bed at 8:45. Therefore, she missed her favorite TV show.
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Minute and hour are units of time. A minute is the smaller unit, and hour is a bigger unit. An hour consists of 60 minutes.
A day is made up of 24 hours. An analog clock tracks up to 12 hours in a full rotation of the hour hand. That means the hour hand makes two full rotations in a day. On the other hand, a minute hand makes 24 rotations as it rotates once every hour.