Time to the Minute

Free sample questions, a clear explanation, and 5 practice skills with an AI tutor that guides without giving the answer away.

Concept Review

Reading Analog Clocks: The 5-Minute Detective

Imagine you're a detective trying to solve the mystery of time on an analog clock. The big clue? Almost every important time ends in either 0 or 5. This is your secret to becoming a time-reading master!

An analog clock is like a pizza cut into 12 slices. But here's the clever part: each slice represents 5 minutes, not 1 minute. When the minute hand (the long hand) points to any number, you multiply that number by 5 to find the minutes.

The 5-Times Table on Your Clock

Let's crack the code using the number positions around the clock face:

Top Half

12 → 12 × 5 = 60 minutes (or :00)
1 → 1 × 5 = :05
2 → 2 × 5 = :10
3 → 3 × 5 = :15
4 → 4 × 5 = :20
5 → 5 × 5 = :25
6 → 6 × 5 = :30

Bottom Half

7 → 7 × 5 = :35
8 → 8 × 5 = :40
9 → 9 × 5 = :45
10 → 10 × 5 = :50
11 → 11 × 5 = :55

Real-World Example

It's Tuesday afternoon. The short hand (hour hand) is between 2 and 3. The long hand (minute hand) points directly at the 7.

Step 1: Hour = 2 (because the short hand hasn't reached 3 yet)

Step 2: Minutes = 7 × 5 = 35 minutes

Answer: The time is 2:35

🔑 Key Insight

The minute hand is like a multiplication machine! Every time it points to a number, it's secretly saying "multiply me by 5." That's why 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 45 minutes are such common times — they're the easiest to spot on a clock face.

Key Takeaway: Just like a detective uses clues to solve mysteries, you can use the 5-times table to decode any analog clock. Once you know this secret, reading time to the nearest 5 minutes becomes as easy as counting by fives!

Sample questions

1. If the hour hand is between 3 and 4, and the minute hand is on the 7, what time is it?

○ 4:35

○ 3:07

✓ 3:35

○ 7:15

Answer: 3:35 — Multiply the minute hand position (7) by 5 to find the minutes.

2. What time is shown when the minute hand points exactly at the 9?

○ 15 minutes past the hour

○ 9 minutes past the hour

○ 50 minutes past the hour

✓ 45 minutes past the hour

Answer: 45 minutes past the hour — $9 imes 5 = 45$.

3. If a clock shows 10:20, where is the minute hand pointing?

✓ At the 4

○ At the 2

○ At the 10

○ At the 5

Answer: At the 4 — $20 div 5 = 4$.

Skills in this topic

Read analog clocks to the nearest 5 minutes
Read analog clocks to the nearest minute
Write time using A.M. and P.M. correctly
Match analog and digital clocks to the exact minute
Convert between hours and minutes

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