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Solve elapsed time problems

Elapsed time is the difference between two clock times: the duration from a start to an end, or the missing start or end determined from the other two quantities. Problems involve hours and minutes, including intervals that cross an hour, noon, midnight, or a day boundary, and can be represented with timelines or equations using 60 minutes = 1 hour; clock times are not decimal numbers. Calendar arithmetic, time zones, and fractional-second calculations are outside this scope.

Detailed Explanation: Solve elapsed time problems

Elapsed time is how long something lasts from a start time to an end time. A helpful strategy is to count forward in easy parts.

Example: A movie starts at 2:45 p.m. and ends at 4:10 p.m. How long is the movie?

  1. Count from 2:45 to the next hour, 3:00:
15 minutes 15\text{ minutes}
  1. Count from 3:00 to 4:00:
1 hour 1\text{ hour}
  1. Count from 4:00 to 4:10:
10 minutes 10\text{ minutes}
  1. Add the parts:
15 minutes+1 hour+10 minutes=1 hour 25 minutes 15\text{ minutes}+1\text{ hour}+10\text{ minutes} =1\text{ hour }25\text{ minutes}

The movie lasted 1 hour 25 minutes.

Remember that clock minutes are not decimal numbers. Since there are 6060 minutes in 11 hour, 4545 minutes to 6060 minutes is 1515 minutes, not 0.150.15 hours.

Learn by doing: Solve elapsed time problems

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    Time - Elapsed - Two Times To Hours & Minutes - One Minutes

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