Mathematics K–6 · Years 1–2

How long is a minute: comparing and measuring durations

Measurement and space

PracticalLow risk

The idea

Duration is how long something takes, and it can be compared by starting two events together or measured by counting repeats of a fixed timer.

What you need

a 1 minute sand timer and a 30 second sand timer
a list of short tasks: write your name five times, build a tower of 10 cubes, walk to the door and back, sing one verse of a song

How to do it

Two children start different tasks at the same moment on go. Watch which finishes first and say which task took longer.
Predict how many times you can write your name before the 1 minute sand runs out. Test it and record the count.
Time the tower task with the 30 second timer: turn it over as it empties and count how many turns until the tower is done. Record it as turns of 30 seconds.
Time each of the four tasks by counting a partner's steady claps from go to done, and order the tasks from shortest to longest.
Start both sand timers together and check that two turns of the 30 second timer take about as long as one turn of the 1 minute timer.

What you should see

Tasks started together are compared by which ends first, and the order from the clap counts matches the order the group saw. One turn of the 30 second timer is half a turn of the 1 minute timer, so two turns of the small timer end within a few seconds of turning delay of one turn of the large one. A task timed twice gives close but not always the same count of claps, and a child's name count in one minute changes a little between tries, which shows that a repeated measurement of duration varies.

What changes

What you change: the task being timed
What you measure: the duration in claps or in turns of the 30 second timer
What you keep the same: the same child does the task both times
the same partner claps at a steady pace, starting on go and stopping on done

Common misconceptions

Each of these ideas is wrong, and the activity is a chance to test it.

A task that feels boring takes longer than a task that is fun, even when the clock says otherwise.
The faster hand of a clock measures a longer time because it moves more.

Safety card

Low riskLearners carry it out

Hazards

running indoors

Controls

walk, do not run, for the door task

Note

No chemicals or heat are used, so the NSW Department of Education Chemical Safety in Schools package is not needed; ordinary classroom supervision under the school's usual risk management.

Curriculum references

The NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes this activity supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.

Mathematics K-10 Syllabus (2022), NSW Education Standards AuthorityMA1-NSM-02 MAO-WM-01
Australian Curriculum v9AC9M1M01

Sources

The pages the author read to write this activity.

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