The minute hand points to the 6 and the hour hand is halfway between 4 and 5. What time is it?
A4:60
B5:30 — because the hour hand is moving toward 5
C4:30 — because the hour that started was 4, and 30 minutes have passed
DHalf past 5
When the minute hand is at 6, you are 30 minutes into the current hour — not yet at the next hour. The hour hand moving halfway between 4 and 5 confirms this: it started at 4 and is traveling toward 5, but has not arrived. The time is 4:30, or 'half past four.' Options B and D make the common error of reading the hour the hand is moving *toward* rather than the hour that already began. The hour number in the time is always the hour that started, not the one coming next.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
Why does the hour hand appear halfway between two numbers when the minute hand points to the 6?
ABecause the clock is slightly out of alignment and needs to be corrected
BBecause the hour hand always moves to the midpoint between numbers to indicate 'half'
CBecause 30 minutes is exactly half of 60 minutes, so the hour hand has traveled halfway through its full one-hour journey
DBecause the numbers on the clock face are spaced unevenly near the bottom
The hour hand makes one complete revolution every 12 hours, taking 60 minutes to move from one number to the next. At 30 minutes — exactly half of 60 — the hour hand has traveled exactly half the distance between two numbers. This is the definition of 'half past': half of an hour has elapsed. Understanding *why* the hour hand is between numbers (not just that it is) prevents the confusion of not knowing which of the two numbers to read.
Question 3 True / False
At half past the hour, exactly 30 minutes have passed since the last whole hour began.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
This is the definition of 'half past.' An hour contains 60 minutes, and half of 60 is 30. When the minute hand has swept from the 12 down to the 6, it has traveled half the clock face — 30 minutes. This is why 'half past three' and '3:30' mean the same thing. The phrase 'half past' literally means 'halfway past the hour,' which is 30 minutes.
Question 4 True / False
When reading a half-past time, you should look at the hour hand and read the number it is closest to pointing at directly.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
At half past, the hour hand is positioned halfway between two numbers — equidistant from both — so 'closest to pointing at' is ambiguous and would lead you to read either number. The rule is: read the *lower* (earlier) number, because the hour that is 'in progress' is the one that already started. At 4:30, the hour hand is between 4 and 5 — you read 4, not 5, because the 4 o'clock hour began 30 minutes ago and hasn't ended yet.
Question 5 Short Answer
When the minute hand points to the 6, how do you figure out the hour number to write, and why might a student accidentally write the wrong hour?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Look at the hour hand: it will be halfway between two numbers. Read the lower (earlier) of those two numbers — that is the hour that has been 'in progress' for the past 30 minutes. A student might write the wrong hour by reading the larger number (the upcoming hour) instead of the one that already started. For example, with the hour hand between 7 and 8, the time is 7:30, not 8:30 — because the 7 o'clock hour started 30 minutes ago.
The two-step check helps avoid this error: first, confirm the minute hand is at 6 (so you know it's a :30 time); then read the hour hand and choose the earlier of the two numbers it is between. The hour doesn't change until the minute hand returns all the way to 12.