To read an analog clock, follow these steps:
- Identify the hour hand (short hand):
The hour hand points to the current hour or somewhere between two numbers. If it is directly on a number, that is the exact hour. If it is between two numbers, the hour is the previous number. For example, if the hour hand is between 3 and 4, the hour is 3
-
Identify the minute hand (long hand):
The minute hand points to the minutes past the hour. The clock face is divided into 60 minutes, with each number representing a multiple of 5 minutes. For example:- 12 means 0 minutes
- 1 means 5 minutes
- 2 means 10 minutes
- 3 means 15 minutes, and so on.
You can count the small tick marks between numbers to get the exact minute if the hand is between numbers
- Read the time:
Combine the hour from the hour hand and the minutes from the minute hand. For example, if the hour hand is on 8 and the minute hand is on 4 (which is 20 minutes), the time is 8:20
- Optional - Read the second hand (thin hand):
If the clock has a second hand, it works like the minute hand but counts seconds. One full rotation equals 60 seconds
Summary:
- Short hand = hour
- Long hand = minutes (multiply the number it points to by 5)
- Thin hand (if present) = seconds
Example: If the short hand is between 3 and 4, and the long hand is on 6, the time is 3:30 (half past three)
