NCERT Class 3 Maths (Maths Mela) · Chapter 13
Time Goes On
Calendars, days, weeks, months, dates of birth, ages, and reading the clock in hours and minutes.
📌 What you’ll learn in this chapter
- Reading a calendar: days, weeks, and months
- Writing dates like 02/05/2015
- Working out ages
- Reading o’clock, quarter past, and half past on a clock
- Things that take minutes, hours, days, or months
📅 Let’s Begin: The Birthday Countdown
Aarav’s birthday is on 15th August, the same day as Independence Day! Today is 8th August. He looks at the calendar and counts: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. 7 more days, which is exactly one week!
🗓️ Part 1: The Calendar
- 7 days in a week · 12 months in a year · 365 days in a year (366 in a leap year)
- A year has 52 weeks and 1 or 2 extra days.
- February has 28 days (29 in a leap year). All other months have 30 or 31 days.
💡 Calendar trick
Add 7 to a date to find the same day next week. If the 4th is a Thursday, then the 11th, 18th, and 25th are also Thursdays.
🎂 Part 2: Dates and Ages
A date like 02/05/2015 means day 2, month 5 (May), year 2015.
A child born in 2015 turns 10 in 2025 (2025 − 2015 = 10).
🕐 Part 3: Reading the Clock
- The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows minutes.
- Long hand on 12 → o’clock (7:00)
- Long hand on 3 → quarter past (7:15)
- Long hand on 6 → half past (7:30)
- Each number on the clock = 5 minutes for the long hand.
⚠️ Common mistake
Mixing up the hands. Remember: short = hour, long = minutes.
✏️ Practice Time
Try these on your own first, then check your answer below each question.
Q1. How many days are in 2 weeks?
✅ Answer14
Q2. What time is it when the long hand is on 6 and the short hand is between 4 and 5?
✅ AnswerHalf past 4 (4:30)
Q3. Which month comes after June?
✅ AnswerJuly
📘 NCERT Textbook Activity Help
Hints and answers for the activities in the textbook, page by page. Try each one yourself before looking at the answer!
Pages 165–166 · July calendarMake July 2024
✅ AnswerJuly 2024 starts on a Monday (like January 2024) and has 31 days.
1. 4 Sundays (7, 14, 21, 28) 2. Thursdays: 4, 11, 18, 25 3. Three days after July 22 is July 25, a Thursday 4. The school is closed from July 7 for 15 days (7–21), so it opens on July 22.
Page 167 · Calendars of two years1. 4 Sundays (7, 14, 21, 28) 2. Thursdays: 4, 11, 18, 25 3. Three days after July 22 is July 25, a Thursday 4. The school is closed from July 7 for 15 days (7–21), so it opens on July 22.
Same or changes?
✅ Answer(a) Names of months: same (b) Days in a month: same (except February in a leap year) (c) Days in a week: same (d) Number of Sundays: can change (52 or 53) (e) Weeks in a year: same (52 weeks and a day or two)
Festivals on the same date every year: Independence Day (15 August), Republic Day (26 January), Christmas (25 December), and your birthday. Makar Sankranti is usually 14 or 15 January.
Months with less than 30 days: February. A year has 365 days (366 in a leap year). Hetal is not right: a year has 52 weeks and 1 or 2 extra days.
Pages 168–169 · Ages and the birth certificateFestivals on the same date every year: Independence Day (15 August), Republic Day (26 January), Christmas (25 December), and your birthday. Makar Sankranti is usually 14 or 15 January.
Months with less than 30 days: February. A year has 365 days (366 in a leap year). Hetal is not right: a year has 52 weeks and 1 or 2 extra days.
Hetal and Bincy
✅ AnswerHetal is 20 and her brother is 10 (20 is twice 10, and 10 years older).
Bincy: 1. born on 2 May 2015 2. 10 years old on 2 May 2025 3. 15 years old in 2030 (after her birthday) 4. Her 8th birthday was on 2 May 2023 5. 3 months old on 2 August 2015 6. The certificate is dated 18 May 2015, so it was issued 16 days after her birth.
Pages 171–172 · Clock and Hetal’s dayBincy: 1. born on 2 May 2015 2. 10 years old on 2 May 2025 3. 15 years old in 2030 (after her birthday) 4. Her 8th birthday was on 2 May 2023 5. 3 months old on 2 August 2015 6. The certificate is dated 18 May 2015, so it was issued 16 days after her birth.
Minutes and o’clock
✅ AnswerBreakfast took 15 minutes (the minute hand moved from 12 to 3). 8:15 = long hand on 3, short hand just past 8. 8:30 = long hand on 6, short hand halfway between 8 and 9.
Hetal’s day: match each activity with a sensible time, e.g. wakes up at 5, yoga at 7, school at 9, lunch at 1, returns home at 2, plays at 4, studies at 5 or 6, sleeps at 9 at night.
Pages 173–176 · How long does it take?Hetal’s day: match each activity with a sensible time, e.g. wakes up at 5, yoga at 7, school at 9, lunch at 1, returns home at 2, plays at 4, studies at 5 or 6, sleeps at 9 at night.
Durations
✅ AnswerMonths: a plant growing, knitting a sweater · Weeks: completing a chapter, radish growing · Days: stitching a dress, a school trip · Hours: a school day, a film · Minutes: brushing teeth, taking a shower.
Clock table: count how many numbers the long hand moves, and multiply by 5. The first row moves 1 number, so 5 minutes. Do the same for the other rows.
Analog clocks have hands. Digital clocks show digits.
Clock table: count how many numbers the long hand moves, and multiply by 5. The first row moves 1 number, so 5 minutes. Do the same for the other rows.
Analog clocks have hands. Digital clocks show digits.
👨👩👧 Tips for Parents
- Circle family birthdays on a calendar and count the days to the next one.
- Ask your child to tell the time when the minute hand is on 12, 3, or 6.
- Time daily tasks together: “How many minutes did your bath take?”