MockStar

Drop the whole cycles, jump the whole units, and only count what is left over. When several things share the time, draw each as a bar, then see how the bars meet.

  1. 1Repeating Patterns5:59
  2. 2Totals over Cycles5:12
  3. 3Calendars6:30
  4. Now playing: 4Elapsed Time5:41
  5. 5Overlapping Time Periods3:55
  6. 6Time Spans4:11

Cycles and Time: Elapsed Time

Methods in this video

Tap a time to jump to where the video teaches that method.

  1. 1

    Whole hours first, extra minutes last

    When to use it: The question asks how long it is from one time to another, or gives a start (or end) time and a duration and asks when it ends (or starts); the times cross the hour, often noon or midnight, and may be written as 'quarter to' or 'twenty past'.

    • Draw a timeline; times on the hour are stepping stones. Going forwards, reach the next hour, jump whole hours, then add the extra minutes.
    • Every 60 extra minutes make 1 hour (65 minutes = 1 hour 5 minutes).
    • Going backwards, take off whole hours first and the extra minutes last; every jump goes back.

Practise exam-style questions with these methods

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