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Topic

Time

Time questions involve reading clocks, adding short durations, comparing start and finish times, and reading simple timetables.

Topic explanation

A 24-hour time such as 14:30 means 30 minutes after 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Keeping times in 24-hour format helps avoid confusion.

For a finish time, add the duration to the start time. If the minutes go over 60, exchange 60 minutes for 1 hour.

For timetable work, count on in small jumps such as 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour.

Quick methods

60 minutes
60 minutes make 1 hour.
Add a duration
Add hours first, then minutes.
Find a duration
Count from the start time to the finish time.
Timetable
Read the start time, finish time, and waiting time carefully.

Worked examples

Example 1

A film starts at 18:20 and lasts 1 hour 30 minutes. When does it finish?

  1. Add 1 hour to 18:20 to get 19:20.
  2. Add 30 minutes to 19:20.
  3. 19:20 + 30 minutes = 19:50

So: The film finishes at 19:50.

Example 2

A bus leaves at 09:45 and arrives at 11:10. How long is the journey?

  1. Count from 09:45 to 10:45: 1 hour.
  2. Count from 10:45 to 11:10: 25 minutes.
  3. Add the parts: 1 hour + 25 minutes.

So: The journey takes 1 hour 25 minutes.

Example 3

A club starts at 15:20 and finishes at 16:05. How long does it last?

  1. Count from 15:20 to 16:00: 40 minutes.
  2. Count from 16:00 to 16:05: 5 minutes.
  3. Add the parts: 40 minutes + 5 minutes = 45 minutes

So: The club lasts 45 minutes.

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