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Comparing durations

different measures of time

Let's look at measuring and comparing durations of time in seconds.

There are 60 minutes in 1 hour.

There are 60 seconds in 1 minute.

Think about these questions:

  • What can you do in 1 minute?
  • What can you do in 30 seconds?
  • What can you do in 1 second?
different measures of time

It's important to be able to measure time accurately in seconds. We also need to think about how we record time if an activity takes longer than 60 seconds, or 1 minute.

Compare these amounts:

  • 65 seconds is the same as 1 minute, 5 seconds.
  • 90 seconds is the same as 1 minute, 30 seconds.
  • 187 seconds is the same as 3 minutes, 7 seconds.
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Example 1

A boy thinking

Working out amounts in seconds

How many seconds are there in 5 minutes, 37 seconds?

You can work this out by counting up in lots of 60 seconds, to represent whole minutes, and then adding on the extra seconds.

60 + 60 + 60 + 60 + 60 = 300 seconds

300 + 37 = 337 seconds

A boy thinking
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Example 2

A female character running

Comparing time durations in minutes and seconds

Two friends run a lap of a playground. It takes Poppy 168 seconds to run all the way round. Imran runs round in 2 minutes, 58 seconds.

Who was quickest?

In order to work this out, we need to change Imran's time into seconds, so we can compare it with Poppy's time.

Imran's time: 2 minutes, 58 seconds = 178 seconds

Remember, 1 minute = 60 seconds, so 2 minutes is 120 seconds.

120 + 58 = 178.

Poppy's time: 168 seconds

Poppy was therefore quickest, by 10 seconds.

A female character running
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Activities

Quiz

Think you know about measuring time in seconds? Test your knowledge with this quiz!

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More on Time

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