Telling Time to the Minute

A clock can tell you the time down to the exact minute. By the end of this Spark, you'll read any clock like a pro!

long hand = minutesshort hand = hours

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Two hands, two jobs

Every clock has two hands that move around the face:

🕐 The short, fat hand shows the hour.
🕑 The long, thin hand shows the minutes.

Your turn: Click the MINUTE hand — the long one!

 

The big secret: count by 5

There are 60 minutes around the clock. The numbers are 5 minutes apart! From 12 to 1 is 5 minutes, 12 to 2 is 10 minutes, and so on.

Click the numbers in order (1, 2, 3…) to count the minutes!

Minutes so far: 0
 

Where is the minute hand pointing?

Find the nearest number, count by 5, then add 1 for each tiny tick after it.

Here the minute hand points just past the 7: 7 × 5 = 35, plus 2 ticks = 37 minutes.

The hour hand is between 4 and 5, so the hour is 4.

4 : 37

We read the hour first, then the minutes.

You read it!

Look at the clock and tap the matching time. Take your time and count carefully.

What time is shown?

 

Set the time yourself

Now you move the minute hand. Tap on the clock face to point the long hand to the right minute.

Set the clock to: 2 : 25

Current minute hand: 0 minutes

 
🎉

Brilliant — you can tell time to the minute!

Keep practising on the clocks around you — you've got this! ⭐