One of the Mathematics curriculum statements for Year Five is about comparing and understanding the differences between 12 hour and 24 hour time.
Mrs S found some research that had been conducted by McCrindle, a research company, where it stated 1 in 10 adults in Australia are confused by 24 hour time and cannot read it properly.
24 hour time, sometimes called military time, shows how many hours and minutes since midnight. 12 hour time splits the day into two sections. The first section runs from midnight to noon (the AM hours) and the second section runs from noon to midnight (the PM hours). The Math is Fun website has a great image comparing 12 hour and 24 hour times.
We may see 24 hour time on train, ferry or bus timetables and airlines use 24 hour time when listing flight departures and arrivals. It is used to avoid confusion about when an event is occurring as the numbers in a 24 hour period are all different when using 24 hour time.
If 12 hour time is used we see the same set of numbers used twice in a 24 hour period and need to see the AM or PM suffix to help us read the time correctly. The timeanddate website has some great information about AM and PM.
Mrs S found an online interactive that we can use to practise telling time and also to practise converting times between the 12 and 24 hour time systems. You might also like to have a go at Stop The Clock (12hr time) or Stop The Clock (24hr time) to brush up on your time telling skills.