Elapsed Time Word Problems

About this worksheet

Six third grade elapsed time stories that cross the hour: baking, piano practice, train trips and movies. A blank clock on every card helps kids count on. Answer key included. It is aimed at third grade, around ages 8 to 9. Draw a quick picture of each story before writing the number sentence.

On this sheet

Aria practiced piano from 3:40 to 4:20. How many minutes did Aria practice? A cake goes into the oven at 6:10. It bakes for 25 minutes. When should it come out? Leo put a pizza in the oven at 6:50 and took it out at 7:30. How long did it bake? Rosa starts homework at 2:00 and works for 45 minutes. What time does Rosa finish? The train left at 11:25 and arrived at 12:30. How long was the trip? The swim lesson starts at 8:20 and ends at 9:15.

Tips for using it

• Underline the question and circle the numbers before solving.
• Read the hour hand first, then the minute hand.
• At half past, the hour hand is halfway between two numbers; pick the smaller one.
• Count by 5s around the clock for the minutes: 1 means 5, 2 means 10, 3 means 15.

Printing tips

Download the PDF and print at 100% (or “fit to page” on A4). Page 1 is the worksheet and page 2 is the answer key with the answers in red; print just page 1 if you want to keep the answers for checking. Free for personal, family and classroom use.