Half past

When is it half past the hour?

When the minute hand of a clock (the longer hand) has travelled from 12 halfway around the circle to point at 6 this is half past the hour.

The hour hand (the shorter hand) also moves. When it is half past the hour, the hour hand is halfway between one number and the next number.

Activity: When is it half past?

Complete this interactive activity and then put your knowledge to the test.

Reading analogue clock

Here is an analogue clock. The short hand is the 'hour hand' and the long hand is the 'minute hand'.

You can read an analogue clock by looking at where the hour hand and the minute hand are pointing.

To work out the hour, you look at which number the hour hand points to.

The hour hand might be between two numbers.

When it's between two numbers, always look at the number before the hour hand.

When the minute hand points straight up to 12, it is the start of a new hour. This is known as o 'clock.

When the minute hand points to 6, it is half past the hour.

On this clock, the minute hand points to 6 so it is half past.

The hour hand points halfway between 12 and 1, so the time shown is 'half past 12'.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3