Time and elapsed time
Reading analogue and digital clocks, and working out elapsed time. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.
Know it already? Jump straight to the quiz
Analogue and digital
- On an analogue clock the short hand shows the hour and the long hand the minutes. For the long hand, each number is 5 minutes.
- A digital clock shows the time in numbers: 07:45.
- Quarter past 3 = 3:15; half past 3 = 3:30; quarter to 4 = 3:45.
- In 24-hour time, 12:00 is noon and 00:00 is midnight.
In Afrikaans half vier means 3:30 (half way to four). In English we say half past three.
Elapsed time
Count on in jumps: from 08:40 to 11:15 → 08:40 to 09:00 (20 min) → 09:00 to 11:00 (2 h) → 11:00 to 11:15 (15 min) = 2 h 35 min.
| Unit | Equals |
|---|---|
| 1 minute | 60 seconds |
| 1 hour | 60 minutes |
| 1 day | 24 hours |
| 1 week | 7 days |
| 1 year | 12 months, about 52 weeks, 365 days (366 days in a leap year, when February has 29 days) |
Stopwatches, calendars and long periods
- A stopwatch measures how long something lasts, to the second: a race of 1 min 25 s.
- Read a calendar: count the days, weeks and months between two dates.
- 1 year = 12 months; 1 decade = 10 years. From 2016 to 2026 is one decade.
- Long ago people measured time with a sundial, an hourglass and a water clock.
Remember this and test yourself
- Short hand = hour; long hand = minutes.
- For the long hand, each number on the clock is 5 minutes.
- Elapsed time: count on to the next whole hour.
- 60 min = 1 hour; 24 hours = 1 day.
- A leap year has 366 days.
Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Jump to the whole hour, then hour by hour, then the rest.
Important words
First say the answer yourself, then turn the card over.
Match column A to column B
Tap a word in column A, then its meaning in column B. You can also start in column B.
True or false?
Read the question and the answer. Is the answer right? Tap True or False.
Now the real quiz!
The quiz has many more questions on this topic. Every question shows straight away whether you are right and explains why.
Take the quiz: Time and elapsed time- Let your child work the examples on paper and explain them to you.
- The ticks (“I know this”) are saved on this device only. We never ask for names or emails.
Follows CAPS for Grade 5 Mathematics. Always check your teacher’s notes and textbook too.

