Telling Time — Answer Key
Part A: Sort the Words
Sort each word or number into the correct category box.
1. Sort each time into the correct category.
Quarter Past
3:1510:1512:15 Half Past
6:308:305:30 Times ending in :15 are quarter past the hour because 15 minutes is one quarter of 60 minutes. Times ending in :30 are half past because 30 minutes is half of an hour.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. Quarter past 4 is the same as 4:15.
Quarter past means 15 minutes after the hour, since one quarter of 60 minutes is 15. So quarter past 4 is 4:15.
2. At 9:15, the minute hand points to the 3.
Each number on the clock face equals 5 minutes apart. The number 3 is 15 minutes from the top (5 + 5 + 5), so the minute hand points to 3 at :15.
3. A quarter of an hour equals 15 minutes.
An hour has 60 minutes, and a quarter means one of four equal parts. Splitting 60 into 4 equal parts gives 15 minutes per quarter.
4. When the minute hand points to 3, it is quarter past the hour.
When the minute hand points to 3, it has traveled one quarter of the way around the clock and 15 minutes have passed, which we call quarter past.
5. At 1:30, the hour hand is between 1 and 2.
At 1:30, half an hour has passed since 1:00, so the hour hand has moved halfway between 1 and the next number, which is 2.
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. Quarter past 7 is the same as 7:15.
True False
Quarter past means 15 minutes after the hour, so quarter past 7 matches 7:15 exactly.
2. The minute hand points to 6 at quarter past the hour.
True False
At quarter past, the minute hand points to 3 (15 minutes). The minute hand points to 6 at half past, when 30 minutes have passed.
3. There are 15 minutes in a quarter of an hour.
True False
An hour holds 60 minutes, and dividing 60 by 4 equal parts gives 15 minutes for each quarter of an hour.
4. At 2:15, the hour hand is exactly on the 3.
True False
At 2:15 only 15 minutes have passed since 2:00, so the hour hand has barely moved past the 2 — it does not reach the 3 until 3:00.