Are years the longest unit of time?

There are other units of time such as decades, centuries and millennia which are longer than years.

Leap years occur once every 4 years, and so they will be on the years 2024, 2028, and so on.

What unit should be used for time?

The base unit of time is the second (s).

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Chapter overview

Learning goals

Maths

Units of time

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Summary

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Units of time

In a nutshell

The units used on a daily basis are the second, minute and hour. In order to consider time frames greater than this, use days, weeks, months and years.

Hours, minutes and seconds

Unit	Conversion	Example
Hours	$1$ hour = $60$ minutes	School lessons typically last an hour
Minutes	$1$ minute = $60$ seconds	Brushing your teeth should take two minutes
Seconds	-	A heartbeat lasts a second

Example 1

How many seconds are in $2$ hours and $3$ minutes?

$2 \text{ hours}$ = $2 \times 60$ = $120 \text{ minutes}$

$120+3 = 123 \text{ minutes}$

$123 \times 60 = \underline{7380 \text{ seconds}}$

Days, weeks, months and years

Days and weeks are constant units of time. Use the following equations to convert between units:

$1$ day = $24$ hours

$1$ week = $7$ days

Unlike days and weeks, months and years can vary in how long they are:

Months	Duration (days)
January, March, May, July, August, October, December	$31$
April, June, September, November	$30$
February*	$28$

*On leap years, February has $29$ days instead. This means that leap years last $366$ days, while non-leap years last $365$ days.

Example 2

How many days are between March $18^{th}$ and September $2^{nd}$ ?

Calculate how many days are left in March:

$31-18=13$ 

Calculate how many days make up the months between March and September:

$30 + 31 + 30 + 31 + 31 = 153$ 

Add the previous two values to the number of days in September:

$13 + 153 + 1 = \underline{167 \text{ days}}$

Note: As the question asked 'between', you do not need to include September $2^{nd}.$

Units of time

In a nutshell

The units used on a daily basis are the second, minute and hour. In order to consider time frames greater than this, use days, weeks, months and years.

Hours, minutes and seconds

Unit	Conversion	Example
Hours	$1$ hour = $60$ minutes	School lessons typically last an hour
Minutes	$1$ minute = $60$ seconds	Brushing your teeth should take two minutes
Seconds	-	A heartbeat lasts a second

Example 1

How many seconds are in $2$ hours and $3$ minutes?

$2 \text{ hours}$ = $2 \times 60$ = $120 \text{ minutes}$

$120+3 = 123 \text{ minutes}$

$123 \times 60 = \underline{7380 \text{ seconds}}$

Days, weeks, months and years

Days and weeks are constant units of time. Use the following equations to convert between units:

$1$ day = $24$ hours

$1$ week = $7$ days

Unlike days and weeks, months and years can vary in how long they are:

Months	Duration (days)
January, March, May, July, August, October, December	$31$
April, June, September, November	$30$
February*	$28$

*On leap years, February has $29$ days instead. This means that leap years last $366$ days, while non-leap years last $365$ days.

Example 2

How many days are between March $18^{th}$ and September $2^{nd}$ ?

Calculate how many days are left in March:

$31-18=13$ 

Calculate how many days make up the months between March and September:

$30 + 31 + 30 + 31 + 31 = 153$ 

Add the previous two values to the number of days in September:

$13 + 153 + 1 = \underline{167 \text{ days}}$

Note: As the question asked 'between', you do not need to include September $2^{nd}.$

Want to find out more? Check out these other lessons!

Comparing times

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

FAQs

Question: Are years the longest unit of time?

Answer: There are other units of time such as decades, centuries and millennia which are longer than years.
Question: When are leap years?

Answer: Leap years occur once every 4 years, and so they will be on the years 2024, 2028, and so on.
Question: What unit should be used for time?

Answer: The base unit of time is the second (s).

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Units of time

Units of time

​​In a nutshell

Hours, minutes and seconds

​​

Example 1

Days, weeks, months and years

Example 2

Units of time

​​In a nutshell

Hours, minutes and seconds

​​

Example 1

Days, weeks, months and years

Example 2

Want to find out more? Check out these other lessons!

Now you’ve read the summary, have a go at the exercises!

In a nutshell

In a nutshell