Mental maths · lesson 17 of 28 · free

Time differences in minutes — Mental Maths Mastery

Time does not work in tens — an hour has 60 minutes. So count up: first to the next o’clock, then whole hours (60 minutes each), then the extra minutes.

How to do it in your head

Jump to the hour — “count to the next o’clock, then whole hours, then the minutes”

  1. From the start time, count minutes to the next o’clock.
  2. Count the whole hours and turn them into minutes (× 60).
  3. Add the minutes after the last o’clock, then add all the parts.

Use it for: Train and bus times, film lengths, match times and homework planning.

Worked example: A film starts at 2:45 and ends at 5:10. How many minutes long is the film? → 145

  1. 2:45 → 3:00 is 15 minutes.
  2. 3:00 → 5:00 is 2 hours = 120 minutes, and 5:00 → 5:10 is 10 minutes.
  3. 15 + 120 + 10 = 145.

Check: 145 minutes = 2 hours 25 minutes, and 2:45 + 2:25 = 5:10 ✓

✏️ Practice

Work it out in your head or on paper, type the answer and press Check. Stuck? Press “Show me how”.

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🏁 Lesson 17 test

20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

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🖨️ Time Difference Worksheet for Class 4 and 5

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