Which is the hour hand on an analogue clock?

The hour hand is the SHORT hand. The long hand shows minutes. Each number on the clock face represents 5 minutes for the long hand.

How do you read a digital clock?

A digital clock shows HH:MM. The first two digits are the hour, the last two are the minutes. 12-hour clocks add am or pm; 24-hour clocks run from 00:00 to 23:59.

How do you convert PM to 24-hour time?

Add 12 to the hour. So 3 pm becomes 15:00, and 8 pm becomes 20:00. The exception is 12 pm (noon), which stays as 12:00.

How do you convert 24-hour times back to 12-hour?

For hours above 12, subtract 12 and add 'pm'. So 17:00 becomes 5 pm, and 22:40 becomes 10:40 pm. 00:00 becomes 12 am (midnight).

How do you work out elapsed time?

Take end time minus start time. When it crosses an hour, count up to the hour first, then add the remaining minutes. For example, 08:45 to 09:20: 15 minutes to 09:00 + 20 minutes = 35 minutes.

How do the time units convert?

60 seconds = 1 minute. 60 minutes = 1 hour. 24 hours = 1 day. So 2 hours is 120 minutes, and 3 minutes is 180 seconds.

Lesson · Practice · Steps

Time

Read a clock. Know which hand is which. Work out how much time has passed.

The six facts you need

Every time question uses one of these. You don't need to remember anything else.

1 · The two handsThe hour hand is SHORT. The minute hand is LONG. The clock face is split into 12 hours.

2 · Minutes on a clockEach number on the clock face = 5 minutes for the long hand. So the 3 means 15 mins past, the 6 means 30 mins past.

3 · Digital formatHH:MM. 12-hour clocks add am/pm. 24-hour clocks run 00:00 to 23:59.

4 · Unit conversions60 seconds = 1 minute. 60 minutes = 1 hour. 24 hours = 1 day.

5 · PM to 24-hourADD 12 to the hour (except 12 pm which stays 12). So 3 pm = 15:00.

6 · Elapsed timeEnd time − start time. If crossing an hour, count up to the hour first, then add the rest.

Worked example 1 - reading the hour

What hour does this clock show?

Read it. Find the hour on the clock.
The fact. The SHORT hand shows the hour.
The short hand points straight at the 3.
The long hand is at 12 (means o’clock).

Answer: 3

Watch outDo not confuse the two hands. The SHORT one shows the hour.

Worked example 2 - reading half past

The clock shows a time. How many minutes past the hour?

Read it. Find the minutes past.
The fact. Each number on the clock face = 5 minutes for the long hand.
The long hand points at 6.
6 × 5 = 30 minutes past.
The short hand is halfway between 8 and 9 ⇒ still “past 8”.

Answer: 30

Watch outThe minute hand pointing at 6 means 30 minutes past, not 6 minutes past.

Worked example 3 - reading a digital clock

A 24-hour digital clock shows 09:45. What is the HOUR?

Read it. Find the hour on the digital display.
The fact. Digital = HH:MM. First part = hour, second part = minute.
09:45.
Hour = 09.
Leading zero doesn’t change the value: 09 is just 9.

Answer: 9

Watch outDo not read 09:45 as “9 hundred and 45” — it’s 9 hours and 45 minutes.

Worked example 4 - converting PM to 24-hour

In 24-hour format, 3 pm has what HOUR?

Read it. Convert 3 pm to 24-hour.
The fact. To convert PM to 24-hour: ADD 12 (except 12 pm which stays 12).
3 pm.
3 + 12 = 15.

Answer: 15

Watch out12 pm (noon) is a special case — it stays 12, not 24.

Worked example 5 - converting 24-hour to PM

22:40 in 12-hour format is X:40 pm. What is X?

Read it. Convert 22:40 back to 12-hour PM.
The fact. To convert 24-hour PM to 12-hour: SUBTRACT 12 from hours above 12.
22 − 12 = 10.
So 22:40 = 10:40 pm.

Answer: 10

Watch outThe 24-hour hour of 22 becomes 10 pm — not 22 pm (there is no such thing).

Worked example 6 - elapsed time

From 09:00 to 11:30, how many TOTAL minutes have passed?

Read it. Total minutes from 09:00 to 11:30.
The fact. Total minutes = hours × 60 + extra minutes.
09:00 to 11:00 = 2 hours = 120 minutes.
11:00 to 11:30 = 30 minutes more.
120 + 30 = 150 minutes.

Answer: 150

Watch outDo not forget to ADD the extra minutes after the whole hours.

Worked example 7 - crossing an hour

From 08:45 to 09:20, how many minutes have passed?

Read it. Minutes from 08:45 to 09:20.
The fact. When crossing an hour, count UP to the hour first, then ADD the rest.
08:45 to 09:00 = 15 minutes.
09:00 to 09:20 = 20 minutes.
15 + 20 = 35 minutes.

Answer: 35

Watch outDo NOT just subtract 45 from 20 — that gives a negative. Break at the hour.

Worked example 8 - unit conversion

How many minutes are there in 2 hours?

Read it. Convert 2 hours to minutes.
The fact. 60 minutes = 1 hour. Multiply hours by 60 to get minutes.
2 hours × 60 minutes per hour.
2 × 60 = 120 minutes.

Answer: 120

Watch outDo NOT confuse with seconds. 60 SECONDS = 1 minute is a different fact.

Ready for more? 100 questions

When you have done these 12, you are ready for the bigger practice paper.

It has 100 questions. They start very easy and get harder near the end. Every question is still Grade 1 — nothing harder. You can stop at any time and come back.

Open the 100-question paper →

It opens in this same place. The lesson stays open behind it.