Tell time to the minute, step by step
The last step in reading a clock is every minute, not just the fives.
The question
Read the clock
short hand:the hour
long hand:the minutes
past9→ hour is9
minutes:32
hour:9
minutes:32
9:32
- Two hands, and they are read on two different scales — so take them one at a time, short hand first.
- The short hand has passed the 9 and has not reached the 10, so the hour is 9. It does not sit exactly on a number, and it is not supposed to — it creeps along all hour.
- Now the long hand. The numbers on the face are hours; the little marks between them are one minute each, and it reads 32.
- Hour 9, minutes 32 — 9:32.
How it works.
- 01
Two hands, and they are read on two different scales — so take them one at a time, short hand first.
- 02
The short hand has passed the 9 and has not reached the 10, so the hour is 9. It does not sit exactly on a number, and it is not supposed to — it creeps along all hour.
- 03
Now the long hand. The numbers on the face are hours; the little marks between them are one minute each, and it reads 32.
- 04
Hour 9, minutes 32 — 9:32.