Parent's Guide : The Best Way To Solve TIME Problems in the 11+ Exams

1. UNDERSTAND THE BASICS OF TIME:

• Units: Ensure the student knows the relationships between seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years.
• Clock Reading: Ability to tell time on both digital and analog clocks can be crucial.

2. BREAK DOWN THE PROBLEM:

• Read Carefully: Make sure to understand what is being asked. Identify the starting time, the end time, and any intervals.
• Keywords: Look for keywords like 'before', 'after', 'past', 'between', and 'elapsed'.

3. DRAW OR VISUALISE:

• Number Lines: Drawing a timeline can help visualise the passage of time. Mark the start time and any intervals, then calculate the end time.
• Clock Diagrams: For problems about the difference between clock hands or figuring out what the time will be in a certain number of hours and minutes, sketching a clock can help.

4. CONVERT UNITS WHEN NECESSARY:

5. USE ARITHMETIC SKILLS:

• Addition and Subtraction: E.g., determining the amount of time that has passed between two moments.
• Multiplication: E.g., if an action is repeated multiple times with intervals in between.
• Division: E.g., if you need to divide a period of time into equal parts.

6. CONSIDER THE 24-HOUR CLOCK:

7. PRACTICE COMMON SCENARIOS:

• Travel: Calculating arrival times based on departure times and travel durations.
• Schedules: Figuring out how much time is available between events.
• Elapsed Time: How much time passed between two events.

8. DOUBLE-CHECK YOUR ANSWER:

• Once you've found an answer, reread the question to ensure you've addressed all parts.
• Ensure your answer is in the correct unit and format (e.g., hours and minutes, not just minutes).

9. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE:

10. STAY CALM AND LOGICAL:

11. CONSIDER THE CALENDAR:

• Days in a Month: Remember not every month has 30 or 31 days. February, for example, has 28 days or 29 in a leap year.
• Leap Years: Understand the concept and be able to calculate if a particular year is a leap year or not.

12. TIME ZONES:

13. USE EFFICIENT CALCULATION METHODS:

• Borrowing and Carrying with Time: For instance, when subtracting minutes and ending up with a negative value, remember to borrow an hour (as 60 minutes).

14. ESTIMATION:

15. WORK BACKWARDS:

16. BE MINDFUL OF AM/PM TRANSITIONS:

17. FRACTIONAL HOURS:

18. PRACTICE WITH REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS:

EXAMPLE