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Ticking Clocks and Turning Calendar – Class 4 Maths Chapter 12 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 4MathematicsChapter 12NCERT book: Maths Mela - Class 4

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 12 of the NCERT Class 4 Mathematics book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 12: Ticking Clocks and Turning Calendar

Introduction

"Ticking Clocks and Turning Calendar" is about time – days, months, years, hours and minutes. It opens at Parv's birthday party. Parv was born on 29 February 2016, and he explains that years with 29 February are called leap years; they have one extra day and come every four years. From calendars, the chapter moves to reading dates, expiry dates, a doctor's day in hours, AM and PM, the 24-hour digital clock, and hours and minutes.

What's in this Chapter

Calendars and leap years – February 2024 has 29 days but February 2025 has 28. Leap years around 2024 are 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032 and 2036. Most years have 365 days; a leap year has 366.

Days of the week – Children name today, yesterday, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and the day before yesterday. If 1 July is a Monday, the next two Mondays are 8 July and 15 July.

Reading dates – 04/07/2024 is in DD/MM/YYYY format and is read as 4th of July 2024. Laali was born on 04/07/2014 and Chotu on 04/12/2019, so Laali is older by 5 years and 5 months. Laali turned 5 on 04/07/2019, and Chotu's 10th birthday will be on 04/12/2029.

Expiry dates – Check the manufacturing and expiry dates on a biscuit packet: how old is it and how many more days is it safe to eat?

Calendars of communities – Explore month names in the Hindu, Islamic, Sikh or other calendars, when their years begin, and the new moon and full moon days.

How many hours in a day? – A doctor's day, from waking up at 6 o'clock in the morning to 6 o'clock the next morning, adds up to 24 hours.

AM and PM – 8:00 AM is morning; 8:00 PM is night. A digital 24-hour clock shows 08:00 and 20:00. For example, 12:00 AM = 00:00, 1:00 PM = 13:00 and 11:45 PM = 23:45.

Hours and minutes – Raghav leaves home at 8:20 AM and returns at 8:35 AM: 15 minutes. He starts homework at 10:20 AM and takes 25 minutes, finishing at 10:45 AM. Muneera reads from 4:15 PM for 45 minutes, finishing at 5:00 PM. Akira leaves at 8:00 AM, reaches school at 8:15, assembly finishes at 8:30, dance practice ends at 8:50 and break ends at 9:00.

1 hour = 60 minutes – Half an hour = 30 minutes, a quarter hour (1/4) = 15 minutes, three quarters (3/4) = 45 minutes.

Let Us Check – Raghu, Raghav and Rani read the same clocks differently. Children find who is right and explain the mistakes.

Key Ideas

  • A normal year has 365 days; a leap year has 366, with 29 February.
  • Dates can be written DD/MM/YYYY.
  • A day has 24 hours; AM is before noon and PM is after noon.
  • The 24-hour clock adds 12 to PM hours (3:00 PM = 15:00).
  • 1 hour = 60 minutes; quarter hour = 15 minutes.

    • Activities from the Book

  • Compare February 2024 and 2025 calendars.
  • Record the months of your favourite festivals.
  • Find what day the 15th falls on in July, August, September and October.
  • Fill a table converting AM/PM times to digital clock times.
  • Time yourself boiling milk or filling a bucket.

    • Words to Learn

  • Leap year – year with 366 days (अधिवर्ष)
  • Calendar – chart of days and months (कैलेंडर / पंचांग)
  • Expiry date – last safe day to use (समाप्ति तिथि)
  • AM – before noon (दोपहर से पहले)
  • PM – after noon (दोपहर के बाद)
  • Minute – 60 in an hour (मिनट)
  • Quarter hour – 15 minutes (चौथाई घंटा)
  • Digital clock – clock showing numbers (डिजिटल घड़ी)

    • Tips for Parents & Teachers

  • Hang a calendar and ask daily "What is the date? What day is tomorrow?"
  • Collect food wrappers and compare expiry periods.
  • Practise saying times in both AM/PM and 24-hour form.
  • Time short routines with a stopwatch.

    • Common Mistakes

  • Calling 12:00 PM midnight (it is noon).
  • Reading the hour hand as minutes.
  • Forgetting that February can have 28 or 29 days.

    • 💡 Key Learning Points

    • ✓A normal year has 365 days; a leap year (every four years) has 366 days with 29 February.
    • ✓Dates can be written and read in DD/MM/YYYY format.
    • ✓A day has 24 hours; AM is before noon, PM after noon, and the 24-hour clock adds 12 to PM hours.
    • ✓1 hour = 60 minutes; half hour = 30 minutes; quarter hour = 15 minutes.
    • ✓Elapsed time can be found by counting forward in minutes.

    👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

    • →Use a real classroom calendar every day to ask date and day questions.
    • →Compare February pages of different years to discover leap years.
    • →Collect wrappers to read manufacturing and expiry dates.
    • →Use a clock with movable hands to show 15, 30 and 45 minutes.
    • →Make a two-column chart of AM/PM and 24-hour times.
    • →Invite children to share festival months from their community calendars.

    📋 Assessment Questions

    1. Can the child identify a leap year and the days in February?
    2. Can the child read and write a date in DD/MM/YYYY?
    3. Can the child convert between AM/PM and 24-hour time?
    4. Can the child find the finishing time after a given number of minutes?
    5. Can the child explain that 1 hour = 60 minutes and 1/4 hour = 15 minutes?

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    Keep learning

    All chapters in Maths Mela - Class 4

    1. 1. Shapes Around Us
    2. 2. Hide and Seek
    3. 3. Patterns Around Us
    4. 4. Thousands Around Us
    5. 5. Sharing and Measuring
    6. 6. Measuring Length
    7. 7. The Cleanest Village
    8. 8. Weigh It, Pour It
    9. 9. Equal Groups
    10. 10. Elephants, Tigers, and Leopards
    11. 11. Fun with Symmetry
    12. 12. Ticking Clocks and Turning Calendar
    13. 13. The Transport Museum
    14. 14. Data Handling