Comparing Time Durations
Compare durations of events and calculate the time taken by particular events or tasks
What a learner can do afterwards
- Calculate how long an activity lasted given start and end times
- Compare the duration of two events and identify which was longer
- Solve a problem such as 'The lesson starts at 10:15 and ends at 11:00. How long is it?'
1 · Read
Duration means how much time something takes. To find a duration, look at the start time and the end time. Then count what happened in between. You already know how to read a clock and use minutes and hours, so this just puts that to work.
The lesson ends at 11:00. Count on from 10:15: first to 10:45 is 30 minutes, then to 11:00 is 15 more minutes. Add them together: 30 plus 15 is 45 minutes. The lesson lasted 45 minutes.
When you compare two events, the one with more minutes is the longer one. If the time crosses into a new hour, count up to the new hour first, then add what is left. Remember that 1 hour equals 60 minutes, so 60 minutes always beats a smaller number.
To find a duration, count from the start time to the end time. To compare durations, more minutes means longer.
More to read
Telling time review
Reading a clock is the first step in timing anything. The short hand points at the hour and the long hand counts minutes. Once you can read both ends of an activity, finding the duration is a subtraction. From 10:15 to 11:00 is 45 minutes. Clocks turn start and end times into numbers you can work with.
Solve time word problems where the end time is unknown
Time problems ask how long, when it ends or when it started. If the start and the duration are known, count forward to find the end. A number line of minutes makes the jumps visible. If the start and end are known, the gap between them is the duration. Pick the missing piece and count to it.
How to Teach Kids to Tell Time: Simple Instructions
Comparing two events means timing each one fairly. Write down both durations in the same unit, usually minutes. Then the bigger number wins: 55 minutes beats 40 minutes. An hour hides 60 minutes, so a 1-hour match outlasts a 50-minute one.
Time FAQ
Duration is the gap between start and finish. A film from 2:00 to 3:30 runs 90 minutes. A lesson from 10:15 to 11:00 runs 45 minutes. Counting up on a clock or number line finds any gap.
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