The Minute Hand
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Basics on the topic The Minute Hand
The Clock – Minute Hand
A clock usually has an indicator for hours and minutes; sometimes even for seconds. These hands are called hour hand and minute hand. The minute hand and hour hand are easily noticeable by the lengths. Have a look at the overview of the indicators on the clock, their function and their lengths in the chart below:
| Name | Function | length |
|---|---|---|
| hour hand | indicates the hours | short |
| minute hand | indicates the minutes | medium |
| second hand | indicates the seconds | long |
Distinguishing a Clock’s Hands
Which hand is the minute hand on a clock? Which is the hour hand on a clock? Well, the long hand is the minute hand, and the short hand is the hour hand. Below is an example of a clock with a minute hand.
The minute hand on a clock moves up by one every minute, until it completes a full circle for sixty minutes. When we do this, we count the minutes in ones, and restart when it goes back past the twelve on the clock.
The minutes on a clock can also be counted by increases of five minutes, with each number on a clock representing five minutes. This is also done until we get to the twelve on the face of the clock, and then we start again from zero.
The Minute Hand - Summary
What is the minute hand? Let’s have a look at what we learned about the minute hand in this text.
The minute hand is a hand on a clock that counts the minutes that have passed in the hour. A minute hand clock can be counted up in increments of one with the dashes, or by increments of five by the clock face numbers.
Looking for some more practice? After watching the video, you can find more interactive exercises, worksheets and more activities on the minute hand of a clock.
Transcript The Minute Hand
Zuri and Freddie are about to watch The Great Landfill Cooking Show and Real Llamas, Drama county! "Zuri, have you ever wondered how many minutes these shows are?" "No, but I would LOVE to know!" While Zuri and Freddie time their shows, let's learn about "The Minute Hand". An analog clock shows the time with moving hands, or arrows. On an analog clock there often are THREE arrows, the hour, minute, and second hand. The shortest arrow is the HOUR hand. This long thin one is the SECOND hand, and it is ALWAYS moving to show the seconds. Today, we will be learning about THIS other long hand, the MINUTE hand. The minute hand ALWAYS points to the exact minute. Starting at the top of an analog clock, there are usually SIXTY dashes around the edge. Each dash shows an increase of ONE minute all the way up to SIXTY minutes. When the minute hand makes it all the way around the clock, one hour has passed and we begin counting the minutes again from ZERO at the TOP. To count minutes like this, we can count one at a time! For example, Zuri and Freddies first show started when the minute hand was at twelve and finished when it got HERE. We can count by ones from twelve to the minute hand to find out how many minutes passed. Let's count! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, TWELVE! Zuri and Freddie's first show lasted twelve minutes! Another way of counting minutes is to skip count by fives. There are TWELVE numbers on an analog clock, which represent the hour. When looking at the minute hand, each number also represents an increase of FIVE minutes all the way up to SIXTY minutes. For example, Zuri and Freddie's second show started when the minute hand was on TWELVE and finished when it got to SIX. We can skip count in fives from the TWELVE, to the SIX. Let's count! Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, THIRTY! Zuri and Freddie's other show lasted thirty minutes. While Zuri and Freddie finish up, let's review! Today, we learned about the minute hand, which is THIS long hand on an analog clock. The dashes on an analog clock show an increase of ONE minute all the way up to SIXTY minutes. The numbers represent increases of FIVE minutes all the way up to SIXTY minutes. "Hey, hang on Freddie, don't we know them?" "Yes. Yes we do!"
The Minute Hand exercise
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Which clock shows 8:15?
HintsRemember, start at the top of the clock to count the minutes. Count until you get to 15 minutes to show 8:15.
These clocks have a short hour hand, a long, thicker minute hand and a long, thinner second hand. Look at the long, thicker minute hand to find the correct time.
SolutionThis clock shows 8:15. You can count in 1s or count forwards in jumps of 5 to land on 15.
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How many minutes are in an hour?
HintsRemember, start at the 12 at the top of the analogue clock. Then, count in 5s all the way around.
What number do you reach when you count in 5s all the way around the clock?
SolutionThere are 60 minutes in one hour.
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How many minutes have passed?
HintsRemember to start at the 1, then count the minutes (in 1s or jumps of 5) until the minute hand is on the 7.
How many minutes do you count in total if you count in 5s from the 1 to the 7?
SolutionThey were eating for 30 minutes.
When we count in 5s or 1s from 1 to 7, we get 30 minutes.
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Telling the time.
HintsWhen counting how many minutes have passed, start at 12. Then, count around the clock in 5s or 1s until you reach the minute hand.
Remember, start at the top of the clock, and count forwards until you reach 28 minutes. Which clock shows 28 minutes past?
SolutionThis clock shows 4:28. The minute hand is on 28 minutes past 4.
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Where is the minute hand?
HintsRemember, the minute hand is one of the long hands.
The second hand is thinner than the minute hand.
The hour hand is the shortest hand.
SolutionThe minute hand is the long hand pointing to the 12. The hour hand is shorter, it is pointing to the 3. The second hand is thinner, it is counting the seconds.
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What time does the TV show finish?
HintsRemember, start at 8:32, and add 12 minutes to figure out what time it is.
Where will the minute hand be after counting forwards 12 minutes from 8:32?
SolutionIt is 8:44 when the show finishes.
8:32 plus 12 more minutes is 8:44.
