Reading Digital Displays vs. Analog Faces - First Grade Mathematics

In our modern world, clocks come in two distinct styles: analog clocks and digital clocks. You might see an analog clock ticking quietly on a classroom wall, and a digital clock glowing on a bedside nightstand or microwave oven. Both clocks tell the exact same time, but they present the information in completely different ways! In this chapter, you will learn how to read both digital and analog clocks, translate times back and forth between them, and understand what the two dots in a digital display mean.

Reading a Digital Clock

A digital clock is very straightforward because it shows the time using plain numerals separated by two vertical dots called a colon :.

The Digital Clock Display:
  +---------------+
  |   0 8 : 0 0   |
  +---------------+
     /     \    \
  Hour   Colon  Minutes

The Anatomy of Digital Time:

The digits BEFORE the colon (on the left) show the HOUR. The colon : is a divider that separates the hours from the minutes. The digits AFTER the colon (on the right) show the MINUTES. When a digital clock shows 08:00, it reads: "Eight o'clock." There are zero minutes past eight.

Side-by-Side Comparison: Analog and Digital

Let us look at the exact same moment in time shown on both an analog clock and a digital clock.

Showing 3:00 on Both Clocks:

       Analog Clock:                 Digital Display:
            12 (Long Hand!)
             |                       +-------------+
       9 ----+----> 3 (Short Hand!)  |   3 : 0 0   |
             |                       +-------------+
             6

Both clocks say: "Three o'clock!"

How to Match Them Up:

Look at the analog clock: The short hand points to 3 (Hour = 3). The long hand points straight up to 12 (Minutes = 00). Look at the digital clock: The left side says 3. The right side says :00. They are a perfect match!

Showing Half-Past Time: 3:30

Now look at both clocks when 30 minutes have passed.

Showing 3:30 on Both Clocks:

       Analog Clock:                 Digital Display:
            12
             |                       +-------------+
       9 ----+---                    |   3 : 3 0   |
            / \                      +-------------+
        Short           (3-4)  v
                6 (Long Hand!)

Both clocks say: "Three-thirty" or "Half-past three!"

The Difference in Motion

On the digital clock, the minutes count: :00, :01, :02... :30. On the analog clock, the long minute hand sweeps halfway around the circle to rest at the bottom on 6!

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: What is the name of the two vertical dots : that separate the hours from the minutes on a digital clock?

Exercise 2: An analog clock has its short hand pointing to 5 and its long hand pointing straight up to 12. Write this time in digital format.

Exercise 3: A digital clock displays 10:30. Explain what the number 10 represents and what the number 30 represents.

Exercise 4: Draw or describe where the hands of an analog clock point when a digital clock reads 07:00.

Solutions and Explanations

Solution to Exercise 1: The two vertical dots that separate the hours from the minutes are called a colon.

Solution to Exercise 2: In digital format, this time is written as 5:00 (or 05:00), which means five o'clock.

Solution to Exercise 3: The number 10 before the colon represents the hour (10 o'clock). The number 30 after the colon represents 30 minutes past the hour.

Solution to Exercise 4: On an analog clock showing 7:00, the short hour hand points directly at the 7, and the long minute hand points straight up to the 12 at the top.