Analog Clock
Analog clock shows time passing by moving hands continuously. The history and the origin of the clock is an interesting one, as it is hard to point which civilization invented it first. People would originally determine the time of the day by observing the length of their shadow. When the shadow was longest it meant that it was noon. Over centuries there have been sand dials, water clocks, and other such clocks to tell the time. Once you can read the time, you can read a random analog clock and not cross-check to see a digital clock.
What is an Analog Clock?
An analog clock is a tool for reading the time of day. The longest hand indicates the seconds, the longer one indicates the minutes while the smallest one indicates the hours.
The shortest hand indicates the hour, a longer hand indicates the minutes, and the longest arm indicates the seconds.
Analog Clock Definition
A clock or watch that contains moving hands and hours with markings from 1 to 12 to show the time is called an analog clock. A day has 24 hours. A clock, having markings from 1 to 12, identifies all 24 hours of the day. Some of the clocks have Roman Numerals (I, II, III, etc), or some don't have any number at all! Random analog clocks use angles to tell time. They have hands rotating around the clock’s face.
Reading an Analog Clock
We can master reading analog clocks with minutes and hour hands with very little time and effort. Analog clocks are divided around a circle and reading the minute and hour hand individually helps us to tell the time.
How does a Clock divide? A clock is divided into 12 sections. On top of the clock, we can see the number 12. To the right of the number 12, we can see 1. If you follow the numbers, going right they will move from 1 to 12. The sections between consecutive numbers like 1-2, 4-5, etc. are divided into 5-minute segments. Some clocks have tiny lines running along their boundaries dividing these segments. Mathematically, we can visualize it in two ways. One is skip counting in 5 and another one is taking multiples of 5.
Hands Of The Clock
There are three hands in a clock, the hour hand, the minute hand, and the second hand. The small hand is the hour hand and the hand bigger than the hour hand is the minute hand, and the hand that moves relatively quicker than the other two hands is the second hand or sweep. The small hand is the hour hand i.e. the number which the small arm points at determines that particular hour. For example: If the small arm is at number 4, it is a period between 4 am and 5 am or 4 pm and 5 pm. In the clock given below, the small hand is pointing at the number 2 so the hour is 2. The big hand is pointing at 10. It indicates minutes. So the time is 2 hours 50 minutes.
What are a.m and p.m?
The full form of a.m is Ante meridiem and p.m is Post meridiem. How will we denote morning and evening while telling the time? Morning is defined as a.m, the time before noon, i.e. from midnight to 11:59 in the morning. The evening is defined as p.m, the time afternoon, from the middle of the day, until the middle of the night. For example, 5 a.m is early in the morning, and 5 p.m is late in the afternoon; 1 a.m is one hour after midnight, while 11 p.m is one hour before midnight.
Setting an Analog Clock
A random analog clock tells the time through the movement of hands. So we can read the time by setting up the hands right.
- Analog clocks will have a knob at the back that can be rotated to set the time.
- When you rotate the knob the minute hand will move first.
- When the minute hand completes one rotation, the hour hand will move from one number to the next.
- Rotate the minute hand to set the hour hand to the time actually needed.
For example, we need to set the time to 4 hours 30 minutes. For that, we need to set the hour hand to 4 by rotating the minute hand and then adjust the minute hand to point out 6 Then we will get the time at 4:30. If we need to set the time to 7 hours 00 minutes. For that, we need to set the hour hand to 7 by rotating the minute hand and then adjust the minute hand to point out 12 Then we will get the time at 7:00.
Different Ways of Reading Time
Let us see the different ways of reading time. We saw that the clock has two hands, big and small. The small hand indicates an hour. The big hand indicates the minute, so in whichever number the big hand is pointing, with that number, we can calculate the minute. Minutes can be calculated by multiplying the number by 5. Here is the table which helps you in referring minutes.
| Numbers | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 1 indicates | 5 minutes |
| 2 indicates | 10 minutes |
| 3 indicates | 15 minutes |
| 4 indicates | 20 minutes |
| 5 indicates | 25 minutes |
| 6 indicates | 30 minutes |
| 7 indicates | 35 minutes |
| 8 indicates | 40 minutes |
| 9 indicates | 45 minutes |
| 10 indicates | 50 minutes |
| 11 indicates | 55 minutes |
| 12 indicates | 60 minutes or 00 minutes |
In the clock given below, the hour hand is between 2 and 3 so it is for 2 hours. The minute hand is at 4. Let us calculate the minute: 4 × 5= 20. Now we can read the time by considering the position of both hands. So, the time is 2 hrs 20 minutes.
We should also know how to read the time when the minute hand points out one of the tiny lines between the sections. Let’s consider if the minute hand is pointing between 4 and 5.Say it is in the 2nd segment after 4. Then we can first multiply 4 with 5 and add 2 to it. It goes like 4 × 5= 20. Then this 20 should be added to 2. So that is 22 minutes.
Digital clocks are also very prominent in usage. A digital clock, as the name suggests simply shows numbers to denote the time. The most important difference between a digital clock and an analog clock is that in an analog clock there are needles that denote time.
How is the Analog Clock Read in the Military and Why?
Military time is a way of telling time with 24 hours, where a day starts at 0 hours and ends at 24 hours. The 24-hour clock, as the name says is divided into 24 hours, numbered from 0 to 24, and tells the time as the day runs from midnight to midnight. The 12-hour clock restarts midday at 1:00 pm, while the military clock keeps counting up midday to 1300 hours and beyond.
Why is The 24-Hour Clock Used in The Military?
In the Military 24 hours clock is used because it avoids the confusion between a.m. (morning hours) and p.m (evening hours). For example, 0700 hours can only mean 7:00 in the morning because military time does not have 7:00 at night. 7:00 p.m would be 1900 hours.
Tips and Tricks
- Practice multiples of 5 or practice skip counting of 5 to identify time quickly.
- The word “quarter” means one-fourth.
- When we say, “A quarter past 6,” we mean 15 minutes past 6
- When we say, “A quarter till 6,” we mean 15 minutes till 6
- When we say, “Half-past 6,” we mean 30 minutes past 6
Important Notes
- In an analog clock with minutes, the big hand is the minute hand and the small hand is the hour hand.
- One hour is equal to 60 minutes.
Related Articles to Analog Clock
Solved Examples on Analog Clock
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Example 1: Suzane and Nik are playing the game "Clock". Suzane has to find out the time in the analog clock given. What time she should say after seeing the clock?
Solution:
The hour hand is at 10 which indicates 10 hours. The minute hand is at 1 Let's calculate minutes: 1 × 5= 5. Therefore, the time is 10:05.
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Example 2: Two images of clocks are given to Tom. He has to find the clock which shows the time at 10: 45. Which of the following should be his choice?
Solution:
The hour hand of the first clock has crossed 10. The minute hand is at 9. So time displayed by Clock I is 10:45. The hour hand of Clock II is at 10. The minute hand of clock II is at 6. Then the time displayed by Clock II is 10:30. Therefore, Clock 1 shows 10:45.
Practice Questions on Analog Clock
FAQs on Analog Clock
Why Is it Called an Analog Clock?
A quantity that has continuous value is an analog quantity. An example of an analog quantity is time. In the case of a clock, each of the three hands can point any direction. That means that the hour, the minute, and the second hand can point to every numerical value that exists between 0 and 60. That is why this type of clock is called an analog clock.
What Does 12:30 Look Like On An Analog Clock?
The short hand(hour hand) of the clock pointing at a little past 12, telling that the hour is 12. The long hand(minute hand) of the clock pointing to 6 telling that it's 30 minutes after 12:00 or 30 minutes past 12(12:30).
What Is the Difference Between an Analog Clock and a Digital Clock?
The Analog clock shows the time by the movement of its different types of hands continuously. In contrast, a digital clock shows the time numerically.
Why Is there a 12-Hour Clock and a 24-Hour Clock Notation?
We usually follow a 12-hour clock which divides 24 hours a day into two by a.m and p.m. The time from midnight to 11.59 in the morning is called a.m, while the time from noon to 11.59 in the night is called p.m. For some purpose, we use a 24-hour clock which helps to avoid the confusion of a.m and p.m. The 24-hour clock is a way of telling the time in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, numbered from 0 to 24. It does not use a.m. or p.m.
Why Is a Clock Called Analog?
When a clock has moving hands and hours marked from 1 to 12(usually) to show the time, that is called an analog clock. These markings can be simple numbers or Roman Numerals (I, II, III, etc) or no numbers at all!