Shorter and longer events
A playtime might last 15 minutes, while a school day lasts hours.
playtime
15 minutes
film
90 minutes
school day
hours
Think about the whole event, not only part of it.
Year 3
Compare durations of events
Compare how long events last by using key time facts and simple elapsed-time reasoning.
Lesson overview
Time
A duration is how long something lasts. We can compare durations using minutes and hours, and we can decide which event is shorter, longer or lasts the same amount of time.
Compare two durations
50 minutes is less than 1 hour.
1 hour is 60 minutes.
Order durations
We can order events from shortest to longest.
Convert or compare the units carefully first.
Worked example
Which lasts longer: 35 minutes or 1 hour?
- Remember that 1 hour is 60 minutes.
- Compare 35 minutes with 60 minutes.
- 60 is greater than 35.
- So 1 hour lasts longer.
Try it
Use the time facts you know, then compare the durations carefully.
Question 1
Which lasts longer?
Question 2
Which order is shortest to longest?
Question 3
How many minutes are in 1 hour?
Question 4
Which event is most likely to take hours?
blinking
brushing teeth
train journey
Question 5
Which statement is correct?
Common mistakes
Watch for these when working through the lesson.
- Comparing only the numbers without the units.
- Thinking 1 hour is less because the number 1 is small.
- Mixing up shortest to longest and longest to shortest.
Related topics
These ideas fit closely with this lesson.
- Record and compare time in terms of seconds, minutes and hours.
- Know the number of seconds in a minute and the number of days in each month, year and leap year.