Time Units and Calendar Facts

Know the number of seconds in a minute and the number of days in each month, year, and leap year

ages 7 to 88 practice questionsvideo included

What a learner can do afterwards

State that there are 60 seconds in a minute
Name the months and state the number of days in each
Explain that a leap year has 366 days and occurs every 4 years

The lesson

You already know that 60 minutes make an hour. Time is built the same way in smaller pieces. Every minute has exactly 60 seconds. Count 'one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi' slowly, and each count is close to one second.

Watch the seconds tick from 0 all the way to 60. Then the minute is done and a new one starts.

Try it together

Mia checks her calendar. April has 30 days, but May has 31 days. February usually has only 28 days, the shortest month of all.

Good to know

Here's a trick: 'Thirty days has September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one, except February alone.' That rhyme helps you remember which months are long and which are short.

Most years have 365 days. But every four years, February gets one extra day, making 366 days. That year is called a leap year.

Remember: 60 seconds make a minute, months have between 28 and 31 days, and every four years a leap year adds one extra day.

Watch it

Where it sits

Learn first

Number of minutes in an hour

This opens up

Comparing Time Durations Converting measurement units

Where this leads

Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.

Air Traffic Controller Artist Astronaut Athlete Baker Botanist

Then practise

8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.