Oliver the Owl hangs a sign in the den: Helper chart check at 4:30. Bennie the Bear looks at the clock. It says 4:05.
"How long do we have?" Bennie asks. Oliver spreads a wing. "Count the minutes from now until then. That is called elapsed time."
Bennie counts on his claws. "Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five! Time for one more snack." Oliver chuckles. "Time for one more job, you mean."
Elapsed time is how many minutes pass between a start time and an end time.
You can count it on a clock. Start at the first time. Count by fives until you reach the second time.
From 4:05 to 4:30, count: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30. That is five jumps of five. Five fives make 25 minutes.
Sometimes the end time is in the next hour. Then make two jumps.
First, jump to the top of the hour. Then jump from the hour to the end time. Add the two jumps.
From 7:45 to 8:10: first jump, 7:45 to 8:00, is 15 minutes. Second jump, 8:00 to 8:10, is 10 minutes. Total: 25 minutes.
| Start | End | Jump 1 | Jump 2 | Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:10 | 3:40 | 30 minutes | none | 30 minutes |
| 6:50 | 7:15 | 10 minutes to 7:00 | 15 minutes | 25 minutes |
| 8:20 | 9:05 | 40 minutes to 9:00 | 5 minutes | 45 minutes |
Sometimes you know the start time and how long a job takes. You want the end time.
Start at the start time. Count forward by the number of minutes. Where you land is the end time.
Bed-making starts at 7:10 and takes 5 minutes. Count forward five. It ends at 7:15.
A 20-minute tidy starts at 4:50. Ten minutes gets you to 5:00. Ten more lands on 5:10.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Elapsed time is the minutes between a start and an end. | ? |
| From 4:05 to 4:30 is 35 minutes. | ? |
| Jumping to the hour first makes counting easier. | ? |
| From 6:50 to 7:15 is 25 minutes. | ? |
You counted time like an owl, Helper! Tomorrow Oliver turns clock reading into a real morning plan.