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Tell time to the nearest minute

Time to the nearest minute is understood by relating the clock’s 60 minute marks to the 60 minutes in an hour: the minute hand identifies the minute, while the hour hand indicates the current hour, including when it lies between numerals. The learner connects analog clock faces with digital notation for times within a 12-hour cycle, including a.m. and p.m. contexts; seconds, 24-hour notation, and more advanced elapsed-time calculations are not included.

Detailed Explanation: Tell time to the nearest minute

Each small mark on an analog clock stands for 1 minute. The numbers help you count by fives:

1=5,2=10,3=15,…,12=601=5,\quad 2=10,\quad 3=15,\quad \ldots,\quad 12=60
  • The minute hand is usually the longer hand. It tells the minutes.
  • The hour hand is usually the shorter hand. It tells the hour. If it is between two numbers, use the number it has already passed.

Example: The minute hand points to 77, and the hour hand is between 33 and 44.

  1. Read the minute hand. Each number is 55 minutes, so:

7×5=35 7 \times 5=35

The time is (35)(35) minutes after the hour.

  1. Read the hour hand. It has passed 33 but has not reached 44, so the hour is 33.

  2. Write the time in digital notation:

3:35 \boxed{3{:}35}

If this is during the afternoon, you could say 3:35 p.m.

Learn by doing: Tell time to the nearest minute

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    Time - Telling - Minute Hand to Minute

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