The minute hand on a clock is pointing 3 tick marks past the 7. What are the minutes?
A7 minutes — the hand is pointing near 7
B35 minutes — because 7 × 5 = 35, plus 3 = 38
C38 minutes — because 7 × 5 = 35, plus 3 individual tick marks = 38
D73 minutes — because the hand is at 7 and 3 ticks
The two-step method: multiply the numbered section by 5 to get the base (7 × 5 = 35 minutes), then count the individual tick marks past it (3 more). 35 + 3 = 38 minutes. Option B makes an arithmetic error (shows the method but gets the wrong answer). Option A ignores the tick marks entirely and misreads the number as the minutes. Option D adds the digits rather than using the base-5 system.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
It is 1:59 on a clock. One minute later, what time does the clock show?
A1:60
B2:00
C1:100
D2:60
Time uses a base-60 system for minutes: once you reach 60 minutes, you don't write 1:60 — instead, you carry over to the next hour, making it 2:00. This is unlike our base-10 number system where 9 + 1 = 10 stays within the same 'place.' In base-60, 60 minutes = 1 hour, so the minute count resets to 00 and the hour advances by 1.
Question 3 True / False
To find the exact minutes shown by a clock's minute hand, you multiply the last numbered marker the hand passed by 5, then add the number of individual tick marks past that number.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
This two-step method is the standard approach for reading to the minute. Each number on the clock represents 5 minutes (since 60 ÷ 12 = 5), and the small tick marks between numbers each represent 1 minute. So: base = number × 5, then add the individual ticks. For example, 2 ticks past the 9 = 9 × 5 + 2 = 47 minutes.
Question 4 True / False
The hour hand usually points exactly at a number, making it easy to read the hour precisely.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
The hour hand moves continuously throughout the hour — it doesn't jump from number to number at the stroke of each hour. At 3:30, the hour hand is halfway between 3 and 4, not pointing at either. The correct method is to identify the most recent number the hour hand has *passed*, not the nearest number it points to. This is why reading the hour hand requires some judgment, especially when the minute hand is past 30.
Question 5 Short Answer
Explain the two steps needed to read the exact minutes from a clock's minute hand.
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Step 1: identify the most recent numbered marker the minute hand has passed, and multiply that number by 5 to get the base minutes. Step 2: count how many individual tick marks the hand has traveled past that number, and add them to the base. For example, if the hand is 4 ticks past the 3: 3 × 5 = 15, plus 4 = 19 minutes.
The two-step method works because the clock is divided into 12 sections of 5 minutes each (5 × 12 = 60), with small tick marks for the individual minutes within each section. Recognizing this structure — major divisions of 5 plus individual minutes — is what makes reading to the exact minute systematic rather than guesswork.