Elapsed Time Crossing Noon
Free printable elapsed time worksheets that cross noon: every problem starts in the morning and ends after noon, with a.m. or p.m. on each time.
Every problem on this sheet starts before noon and ends after it, like 10:45 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. That is the hard case of elapsed time: taking 10:45 away from 1:20 doesn't work, because the clock goes from 12 back to 1. The way through is to count up to noon and then on from it: 1 hour 15 minutes to noon, then 1 hour 20 minutes more, 2 hours 35 minutes in all.
The sheet mixes three questions: how much time passed, what time it ended, and what time it started. When the answer is a time, it includes a.m. or p.m., and the worksheet never prints that half of the day for the child. Every start is between 6:00 a.m. and noon and every end is between noon and 6:00 p.m., so the times read like a school day.
The times are printed digitally, the way a timetable shows them. Use Show the times as to switch to two clock faces, with a.m. or p.m. written under each face, or to a sentence or a number line. Turn Cross noon off for problems that stay inside one half of the day.
What this worksheet covers
- Find the time between a morning time and an afternoon time
- Count up to noon and then on from it
- Write a start or end time with a.m. or p.m.
Common Core standards
- 3.MD.A.1 Tell time to the nearest minute and solve problems about time intervals in minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How do you find elapsed time across noon?
Split it at 12:00. From 9:30 a.m. to noon is 2 hours 30 minutes, and from noon to 2:10 p.m. is 2 hours 10 minutes. Add the two parts: 4 hours 40 minutes.
Do any problems cross midnight?
No. Crossing midnight changes the date, which needs words like "the next day". Every problem here starts and ends on the same day, between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Why do some problems end at 12-something p.m.?
Because 12:30 in the afternoon is p.m., and it is the time children most often get wrong. No problem starts or ends at exactly 12:00, which is written 12:00 p.m. but usually just called noon.
Can I make the problems easier?
Set Times To The to the hour or the half hour; the start, the end and the time between them all move to that interval. Or turn Cross noon off and practise inside one half of the day first.