A phone, an oven and a bus screen all show times in a way that might look a little strange. One of them reads 17:30. What time of day do you think that is? Is it morning, afternoon or evening?

We will look at three different times together, and how each is written in 24-hour form. Notice what changes after midday and what stays exactly the same.

Today we find the matching 24-hour time for everyday times together. The 24-hour partner just means the matching 24-hour time, not a person you team up with.

We will work through these three times together. For each one, we set the hands and then decide what it looks like on the 24-hour clock:

• ten in the morning
• half past four in the afternoon
• six in the evening

Today we work through these 24-hour times together: 07:00, 13:00, 18:30 and 21:00. For each one, decide whether it is a morning time that stays the same or an afternoon time where 12 was added, then set the clock to match.

What we learned today

• Morning hours stay the same on the 24-hour clock (9 a.m. is 09:00).
• Afternoon and evening times add 12 (3 p.m. is 15:00).
• To go back, take 12 off the hour (19:00 is 7 p.m.).
• 12:00 is noon and 00:00 is midnight, where the count rolls over.

Coming up

Next we look at the units of time and how seconds, minutes, hours, days and weeks pack neatly into one another.