Elapsed Time Worksheets

Elapsed time is the amount of time that passes between a start time and an end time, and working it out means counting in hours and minutes, which is harder than counting in tens. The four PDFs on this page ask how much time has passed between two clocks, what time it will be after a number of minutes, and mixed problems, including hours and half hours, and every sheet has an answer key.

They follow standard 3.MD.A.1 of the Common Core standards for grade 3 measurement and data, and the notes below show a method that always works, why base 60 causes mistakes and how far the hands turn.

New: use the interactive clock and printable learning clock to practice moving the hands.

Jumping forward on a timeline

The easiest way to work out elapsed time is to jump in friendly steps: first to the next whole hour, then whole hours, then the minutes left. From 2:15 to 3:40: 2:15 to 3:00 is 45 minutes, 3:00 to 3:40 is 40 minutes, so 1 hour 25 minutes in total.

• How long? Start and end clocks: how much time has passed?
• What time? A start clock and a number of minutes: what time will it be?

Elapsed time worksheets: what is in the set

There are 4 elapsed time worksheets on this page, and every one has an answer key except for any cut-out games. Two sheets of clocks ask how much time has passed and what time it will be, a mixed sheet combines both, and a fourth sheet uses start and end times an hour or more apart.

How much time has passed? The timeline method in a table

How much time has passed between two times is easy to find when it is broken into three jumps: to the next whole hour, then whole hours, then the minutes that are left. The jumps are all easy, so the method works for any problem, even when the clock crosses noon. This table shows six problems, and the picture above shows the first one on a timeline:

The elapsed time is the total of the three jumps. For 2:15 to 3:40, the jump to 3:00 is 45 minutes and the minutes left are 40, so the answer is 85 minutes, which is 1 hour 25 minutes. The jump to the next whole hour is the clever one, because it turns a hard subtraction such as 3:40 − 2:15 into two easy additions.

Elapsed time grade 3: three ways to get the same answer

For elapsed time grade 3 children use the timeline, but there is a second way that older children enjoy. They change both times to minutes since midnight and subtract. The answers are the same. This table shows the two methods for the six problems:

The second method is useful as a check, since it uses ordinary subtraction. It needs care with a.m. and p.m.: 2:15 p.m. is 14:15 on a 24-hour clock, which is 855 minutes after midnight. The third way is to move the minute hand on a printable clock, counting how many minutes it goes round. The standard 3.MD.A.1 asks for time intervals in minutes, and in grade 4 children solve problems with hours and minutes together (4.MD.A.2).

Elapsed time with clocks: how far do the hands turn?

Elapsed time with clocks is easiest to see when children watch both hands. The minute hand turns 6 degrees every minute, so it makes a full turn in 60 minutes. The hour hand turns half a degree every minute, so it moves from one number to the next in an hour. This table shows how far each hand turns for six elapsed times:

In 85 minutes the minute hand turns 510 degrees, a full turn plus 150 degrees, and the hour hand moves 42.5 degrees. The picture above shows the start and end clocks for 2:15 to 3:40. A child who counts how many times the minute hand passes the 12 has counted the whole hours. The telling time to 5 minutes and telling time to the minute pages explain how to read the hands.

What time will it be? Adding minutes to a start time

The second type of problem on these worksheets gives a start time and a number of minutes and asks for the end time. The method is the same, but the other way round: add enough minutes to reach the next whole hour, then add the rest. This table shows six problems:

When the minutes go over an hour, as in 10:50 + 1 h 15 min, it helps to add the hour first and then the 15 minutes. The answer, 12:05, is past noon, so the clock goes from 11:59 to 12:00 and not to 13:00. On a 12-hour clock the hour number goes back to 1 after 12.

The base-60 trap: why elapsed time goes wrong

Elapsed time goes wrong when children subtract time as if it were a decimal number. An hour has 60 minutes, not 100, so the usual “take the smaller from the larger” in the minutes column gives wrong answers. This table shows five problems where that happens:

Each wrong answer is between 50 and 70 minutes too long, because the borrowed hour was never taken from the hours. The timeline method avoids the trap, since it never subtracts minutes: it only adds. A child who says “from 2:50 to 3:00 is 10 minutes” cannot go wrong in this way.

Time word problems: finding the start time

The time word problems on the worksheets ask for the time that something ends, or for how long it lasts. A harder kind asks for the time that something started, when the end time and the length are known. The method is to jump back, first by the hours and then by the minutes. This table shows four problems:

Jumping back is just the reverse of jumping forward, so children can check each answer by adding the length to the start time. The two-step word problems page has more time stories that need two steps.

How much time has passed in a school day?

A school day gives children real elapsed times to work out. This table shows one school day in parts, with the elapsed time and the minutes for each part:

The parts add up to the whole day, a check that children should make: the four parts total 405 minutes, which is 6 hours 45 minutes. If the times on your own timetable are different, children can work out their own day. The telling time worksheets page has the clock-reading pages that come before this.

Common mistakes with elapsed time

Most mistakes come from treating hours and minutes as ordinary numbers. This table shows five mistakes, what went wrong and the fix:

Elapsed time word problems

Elapsed time problems are about real events: lessons, films, journeys and baking. Ask children to say which kind of problem it is, to draw a timeline and to give the answer in a sentence:

Games and activities for elapsed time

Children learn elapsed time best when they play with it. These games use things that are found at home or in a classroom:

• Timeline jumps: draw a long line on the floor with chalk, mark the start and the end, and hop to the next hour and then on
• Clock race: one child sets a start time on a clock and the other sets the end time after a number of minutes
• Schedule maker: plan a Saturday with five events, and work out how long each one lasts
• What time will it be?: turn over a time card and a minutes card, and add them
• Stopwatch challenge: guess when 30 seconds, one minute and two minutes have passed, and check with a timer
• Fix the answer: a teacher writes a wrong elapsed time and children find and fix the mistake

Extra support and extra challenge with elapsed time

For children who need more support: use a real clock, or the printable clock, and move the minute hand to the next hour, then on. Say each jump aloud: “from 2:15 to 3:00 is 45 minutes”. Draw the timeline before solving. Start with times that do not cross an hour, then times that do, and use only whole hours and half hours at first.

For children who need more challenge: ask for the start time when the end time and the length are known, for problems that cross noon or midnight, and for the total time of a trip with two stops. Try 24-hour times, such as 13:25 to 16:10, and a timetable from a train or bus.

How to tell that a child is ready to move on from elapsed time

Before moving on from elapsed time, check that the child can do all four of these things:

1. The child can read analog and digital clocks to the nearest minute.
2. The child jumps to the next whole hour and then adds the rest.
3. The child can find an end time and a start time.
4. The child checks an answer by adding the length to the start time.

When all four are true, elapsed time is secure, so move on to the two-step word problems page, to converting units, or to the measurement worksheets pages.

A 20-minute lesson on elapsed time

A short lesson is the best way to introduce elapsed time. This 20-minute plan can be used in a classroom, at a tutoring session or at home, and it uses the worksheets at the end:

Where elapsed time fits across the grades

No skill stands alone. This table shows what children learn before and after elapsed time, with the standard that goes with each step:

This page is the main page for elapsed time. The whole sequence is on the telling time worksheets page.

Helping at home with elapsed time

Parents do not need to be experts to help with elapsed time. These suggestions work well, and each takes only a few minutes:

• Ask “how long until…?” at home: dinner, bedtime, the start of a show.
• Use a clock with hands and move the hands together.
• Check every answer by adding the length to the start time.
• Keep a timer for chores and homework, and look at how long each takes.
• Praise the jump to the next hour as a strategy.

How to check progress in elapsed time

A teacher or parent can check progress in elapsed time with the answer key and a few questions. This table shows three common situations, what they mean and what to do next:

A five-day plan for elapsed time

Most children need about a week of short sessions for elapsed time. This plan follows the order of the worksheets on this page:

When the plan for elapsed time is complete, move on to the two-step word problems page. The whole sequence is on the telling time worksheets page.