A clock shows the short hand pointing to 3 and the long hand pointing straight up to 12. What time does the clock show?
A3:12 — you read the number each hand points to
B3:00 — the long hand at 12 means exactly the hour, and the short hand names which hour
C12:03 — the 12 is the most important number to read
D12:00 — both hands near 12 always means noon
The long (minute) hand at 12 is your signal that you are exactly on the hour — no minutes have passed. The short (hour) hand names which hour: it points to 3, so the time is 3:00. Option A is the classic mistake of treating each hand like a digit to read; option C reverses the hands' roles.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
At exactly 5 o'clock, why does the hour hand sit directly on the 5 rather than partway between 5 and 6?
AThe hour hand moves faster than the minute hand and snaps to the nearest number
BThe hour hand only steps to the next number after the minute hand completes one full trip around the clock
CBoth hands always point to the same number when the time is on the hour
DThe hour hand points to 12 at every full hour and resets
The hour hand moves very slowly — it takes 60 minutes (one full minute-hand lap) to travel from one number to the next. At exactly 5:00, the minute hand has just completed a full circle back to 12, which means the hour hand has moved exactly one step and is sitting directly on 5. In between hours, the hour hand is partway between two numbers.
Question 3 True / False
At exactly 7 o'clock, the long hand points to 12 and the short hand points to 7.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
This is exactly right. The minute (long) hand completes a full circle every hour, and at the top of each hour it points to 12. The hour (short) hand moves slowly and at exactly 7:00 it sits right on the 7. These two facts together — long at 12, short at 7 — mean it is 7 o'clock.
Question 4 True / False
When the long hand points to 6, you are exactly at the top of the hour.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
The long (minute) hand points to 6 when 30 minutes have passed — halfway through the hour, not at the top. 'Exactly on the hour' means the long hand is at 12. When the long hand points to 6, the time looks like __:30 (for example, 4:30), not __:00.
Question 5 Short Answer
How do you use the two hands of a clock to read the time when it is exactly on the hour? What does each hand tell you?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: The long (minute) hand tells you WHERE in the hour you are — when it points to 12, you know it is exactly on the hour with no minutes passed. The short (hour) hand tells you WHICH hour it is. You check the long hand first: if it is at 12, you are on the hour. Then you read the number the short hand is pointing to — that is the hour.
The key is that these are two separate pieces of information from two separate hands. The minute hand signals the 'are we exactly on the hour?' question; the answer is yes only when it points to 12. The hour hand answers 'which hour?' The confusion often comes from trying to read the numbers as digits in a two-digit answer — but each hand has its own job.