NCERT Solutions for Class 5 Maths Chapter 12 Racing Seconds – step-by-step answers to every exercise and in-text question of the chapter, as per the latest NCERT syllabus for 2027. Read them online or download the free question-answer PDF.
Chapter 12 of Math Mela is about time. Raghav’s morning yoga, a 200 m walking race at school, and a set of wall clocks bring in a brand new unit — the second. The chapter teaches you to read a clock with three hands, to write the same time in the 12-hour and the 24-hour way, to change hours into minutes and minutes into seconds, and to work out how long something took. The big idea: time is counted in sixties, not in tens.
NCERT Solutions for Class 5 Maths Chapter 12 Racing Seconds PDF
All the answers are on this page below. The PDF also explains every answer – why it is right and how to check it – so download it for revision.
| Chapter | Download | |
|---|---|---|
| Solutions PDF (English medium) | Racing Seconds | View PDF |
| Solutions PDF (Hindi medium) | दौड़ते सेकंड | View PDF |
NCERT Solutions for Class 5 Maths Chapter 12 Racing Seconds – Questions and Answers
All 53 questions of the chapter (textbook pages 155 – 163) are answered below, in the order of the book – in-text questions, activities and the end-of-chapter exercises. Each answer is written the way you would write it in the exam.
Let us find out — Page 155Raghav’s yoga clocks, time elapsed, and the painting table
Raghav started at 05:35 a.m. That is 25 minutes before six in the morning.
Minute hand → on 7 → 7 × 5 = 35 minutes
Time = 05:35 a.m.
Raghav finished at 05:55 a.m. — five minutes before six.
Finishing time = 05:55 a.m.
He practised for 20 minutes.
Start time = 05 : 35
Difference = 00 : 20
Raghav practised yoga for 20 minutes
27 minutes.
01 : 15 (earlier time)
─────────
00 : 27 → 27 minutes
5 hours.
03 : 18 (earlier time)
─────────
05 : 00 → 5 hours
2 hours 15 minutes.
11:15 a.m. → 11:30 a.m. = 15 minutes
Time elapsed = 2 hours 15 minutes
| Name | Time Taken |
|---|---|
| Raghav | 1 hour 20 minutes |
| Rani | 2 hours 10 minutes |
| Ritu | 1 hour 35 minutes |
(a) Who took the longest time?
Rani took the longest time — 2 hours 10 minutes.
- Raghav: 1 hour 20 minutes = 60 + 20 = 80 minutes.
- Rani: 2 hours 10 minutes = 60 + 60 + 10 = 130 minutes.
- Ritu: 1 hour 35 minutes = 60 + 35 = 95 minutes.
- Compare: 130 > 95 > 80.
| Name | Time Taken |
|---|---|
| Raghav | 1 hour 20 minutes |
| Rani | 2 hours 10 minutes |
| Ritu | 1 hour 35 minutes |
(b) Who took the least time?
Raghav took the least time — 1 hour 20 minutes.
Ritu = 95 minutes
Rani = 130 minutes
The smallest of these is 80, so Raghav was quickest
Let us find out (continued) — Page 15612-hour format and 24-hour format
Fill in the blanks by writing the time in the appropriate format.
| Time in 12-hour format | Time in 24-hour format |
|---|---|
| 05:30 a.m. | 05:30 hours |
| ………… | 08:35 hours |
| 11:55 a.m. | ……… hours |
| 02:30 p.m. | 14:30 hours |
| 05:30 p.m. | ……… hours |
| 09:35 p.m. | ……… hours |
The completed table:
| Time in 12-hour format | Time in 24-hour format |
|---|---|
| 05:30 a.m. | 05:30 hours |
| 08:35 a.m. | 08:35 hours |
| 11:55 a.m. | 11:55 hours |
| 02:30 p.m. | 14:30 hours |
| 05:30 p.m. | 17:30 hours |
| 09:35 p.m. | 21:35 hours |
11:55 a.m. is morning → 11:55 hours
05:30 p.m. → 5 + 12 = 17 → 17:30 hours
09:35 p.m. → 9 + 12 = 21 → 21:35 hours
Match the following.
| Time in 12-hour format | Time in 24-hour format |
|---|---|
| 06:30 a.m. | 01:30 hours |
| 08:45 p.m. | 23:45 hours |
| 11:45 p.m. | 06:30 hours |
| 04:30 a.m. | 20:45 hours |
| 07:30 p.m. | 04:30 hours |
| 01:30 a.m. | 19:30 hours |
Here are the six correct pairs.
| 12-hour format | Working | 24-hour format |
|---|---|---|
| 06:30 a.m. | morning, so no change | 06:30 hours |
| 08:45 p.m. | 8 + 12 = 20 | 20:45 hours |
| 11:45 p.m. | 11 + 12 = 23 | 23:45 hours |
| 04:30 a.m. | morning, so no change | 04:30 hours |
| 07:30 p.m. | 7 + 12 = 19 | 19:30 hours |
| 01:30 a.m. | after midnight, so no change | 01:30 hours |
School Race — Page 157Seconds — a new and smaller unit of time
Yes. The three little boards on the winners’ podium say Min. Sec. at the top. So each timing is given in minutes and seconds, not in hours and minutes.
Read the three boards in your book:
| Podium place | Board shows | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01 : 55 | 1 minute 55 seconds |
| 2 | 01 : 56 | 1 minute 56 seconds |
| 3 | 01 : 57 | 1 minute 57 seconds |
Each girl took 1 full minute and then some extra seconds — 55, 56 and 57 seconds more.
1 min 56 s = 60 + 56 = 116 seconds
1 min 57 s = 60 + 57 = 117 seconds
The girl standing on box number 1 won the race. She is the one in the red T-shirt with her fist raised and the gold medal round her neck. She took 1 minute 55 seconds.
= 60 s + 55 s = 115 seconds
Let Us Do — Page 157Seconds or minutes? Tick the right cell
Estimate whether you would take seconds or minutes to complete the following activities. Tick the appropriate cell.
| Activity | Seconds | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Blinking of eyes | ||
| Switching on and switching off the lights | ||
| Counting from 1–20 | ||
| Filling a glass from the tap | ||
| Melting of an ice-cube | ||
| Making a phone call | ||
| Sitting down on the floor | ||
| Drinking a glass of water | ||
| Snapping fingers | ||
| Washing hands |
Here is the table with a tick in the sensible cell for each activity, and a rough time so you can see why.
| Activity | Seconds | Minutes | About how long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blinking of eyes | ✓ | less than 1 second | |
| Switching on and switching off the lights | ✓ | about 2 seconds | |
| Counting from 1–20 | ✓ | about 10 seconds | |
| Filling a glass from the tap | ✓ | about 10 seconds | |
| Melting of an ice-cube | ✓ | 15 minutes or more | |
| Making a phone call | ✓ | a few minutes | |
| Sitting down on the floor | ✓ | about 3 seconds | |
| Drinking a glass of water | ✓ | about 10 seconds | |
| Snapping fingers | ✓ | less than 1 second | |
| Washing hands | ✓ | about 20–30 seconds |
In-text Questions — Page 158Your own list, and how many you can do in a minute
Write your own list on the dotted lines in the book. Anything you can finish before the seconds hand goes once round belongs here.
- Tying my shoelaces — about 20 seconds
- Sharpening a pencil — about 15 seconds
- Clapping 20 times — about 10 seconds
- Writing my full name — about 10 seconds
- Opening my school bag and taking out a book — about 8 seconds
- Drinking a glass of buttermilk — about 20 seconds
Estimate and verify how many of these you can do in a minute.
| Activity | Estimated Number | Actual Number |
|---|---|---|
| Number of balloons blown | ||
| Number of push-ups | ||
| Number of breaths | ||
| Number of hops on one leg |
First write your guess (the estimate). Then do the activity for one minute while a friend watches the seconds hand, and write what you counted (the actual number).
Sample answer (this is what one Class 5 student got — yours will be different, and that is fine):
| Activity | Estimated Number | Actual Number |
|---|---|---|
| Number of balloons blown | 4 | 3 |
| Number of push-ups | 20 | 14 |
| Number of breaths | 25 | 18 |
| Number of hops on one leg | 50 | 62 |
Let Us Find — Page 158Three things to measure with a seconds hand
A friend watches the seconds hand for 10 seconds (two big numbers, for example from 12 to 2) while you skip and count.
Sample answer: I skipped 18 times in 10 seconds.
In 60 seconds (1 minute) that would be about 6 × 18 = 108 skips
Time yourself with a clock that has a seconds hand.
Sample answer: I took 5 seconds to write FRIEND in capital letters.
6 letters in 5 seconds → a little under 1 second per letter
Measure this on your school ground, with a friend or your teacher holding the watch.
Sample answer: I started when the seconds hand was on 12 and finished when it had moved 21 small marks. So I took 21 seconds to run 100 m.
Let Us Do — Page 159Observe the clocks and fill in the blanks
Rani took 30 seconds.
Start reading = 0 seconds
Time taken = 30 − 0 = 30 seconds
Raghav took 35 seconds.
- First clock: red hand on 12 → 0 seconds.
- Second clock: red hand on 7. Count in fives: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35. So 35 seconds.
- Subtract: 35 − 0 = 35.
Ritu took 15 seconds.
- First clock: red hand on 9. Count in fives: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45. So 45 seconds.
- Second clock: red hand on 12. It has gone all the way round to the end of that minute, so this is 60 seconds.
- Subtract: 60 − 45 = 15.
Raghu took 60 seconds, that is 1 whole minute.
At first the two clocks look exactly the same — the red hand is on 5 in both. The clue is hidden in the green minute hand.
Raghu took 60 seconds
Draw the Missing Seconds Hand — Page 160Add the red hand to the clock on the right
Draw the seconds hand pointing at 4.
0 + 20 = 20 seconds
20 ÷ 5 = the number 4 on the dial
Draw the seconds hand pointing at 6 — straight down.
30 seconds is also half a minute, because 60 ÷ 2 = 30
Draw the seconds hand pointing at 9 — exactly where it was before.
105 s = 60 s + 45 s = 1 min 45 s
Seconds hand shows the leftover 45 s → the number 9
Draw the seconds hand pointing at 7.
95 s = 60 s + 35 s
60 s = 1 minute (carried to the minute hand)
Seconds hand shows 35 s → the number 7
Conversion of Hours to Minutes — Page 161Zainab and Remo, and the hours-and-minutes double number line
Here is the completed double number line. The answers are shown in red.
| Hours | Working | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 hr | 1 × 60 | 60 min |
| 2 hr | 2 × 60 | 120 min |
| 4 hr | 4 × 60 | 240 min |
| 7 hr | 7 × 60 | 420 min |
| 8 hr | 8 × 60 | 480 min |
| 9 hr | 9 × 60 | 540 min |
| 11 hr | 11 × 60 | 660 min |
| 12 hr | 12 × 60 | 720 min |
(i) 1 hours 10 minutes = _____ minutes
70 minutes.
= 60 min + 10 min
= 70 minutes
165 minutes.
= (2 × 60) + 45
= 120 + 45
= 165 minutes
195 minutes.
= (3 × 60) + 15
= 180 + 15
= 195 minutes
260 minutes.
= (4 × 60) + 20
= 240 + 20
= 260 minutes
1 hour 15 minutes.
- Ask: how many whole 60s are hiding in 75? Just one, because 60 fits into 75 once and 120 would be too big.
- Take out that hour: 75 − 60 = 15.
- Name the two pieces: 1 hour, and 15 minutes left over.
2 hours 30 minutes.
150 minutes = 2 hours 30 minutes
3 hours 40 minutes.
220 minutes = 3 hours 40 minutes
6 hours 30 minutes.
390 minutes = 6 hours 30 minutes
Let Us Do — Page 1621 (c) Minutes and seconds on a double number line
Here is the completed line. Every minute on top is worth 60 seconds below.
| Minutes | Working | Seconds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 min | 1 × 60 | 60 sec |
| 2 min | 2 × 60 | 120 sec |
| 5 min | 5 × 60 | 300 sec |
| 10 min | 10 × 60 | 600 sec |
| 15 min | 15 × 60 | 900 sec |
| 20 min | 1,200 ÷ 60 | 1,200 sec |
| 25 min | 1,500 ÷ 60 | 1,500 sec |
5 minutes 20 seconds.
320 sec = 5 min 20 sec
3 minutes 45 seconds.
225 sec = 3 min 45 sec
11 minutes 40 seconds.
100 − 60 = 40 (1 more minute taken out)
700 sec = 11 min 40 sec
16 minutes 40 seconds.
100 − 60 = 40 (1 more minute taken out)
1,000 sec = 16 min 40 sec
613 seconds.
= (10 × 60) + 13
= 600 + 13
= 613 seconds
248 seconds.
= (4 × 60) + 8
= 240 + 8
= 248 seconds
940 seconds.
= (15 × 60) + 40
= 900 + 40
= 940 seconds
Let Us Do (continued) — Page 162Adding up times, and finding how long a journey took
Raghav studied for 3 hours 20 minutes in all.
Number of subjects = 4
Total = 50 × 4 = 200 minutes
200 = 180 + 20 = (3 × 60) + 20
Total time = 3 hours 20 minutes
Sample strategy to share: I added in pairs — 50 + 50 = 100 minutes, and 100 + 100 = 200 minutes.
Raghu took 1 hour 5 minutes.
09:00 → 09:05 = 5 minutes
Time taken = 1 hour 5 minutes
Let Us Do — Page 163Start time, end time and duration word problems
Jyoti reached home at 08:00 PM.
+ 01 hr : 45 min
─────────────
07 hr : 60 min
60 min = 1 hour, so carry 1
= 08:00 PM
Ragini started at 08:30 PM.
− 01 hr : 10 min (time taken)
─────────────
08 hr : 30 min → 08:30 PM
They returned at 12:40 PM.
12:30 PM + 10 minutes = 12:40 PM
Raji finished at 07:30 PM.
+ 01 hr : 30 min
─────────────
07 hr : 30 min → 07:30 PM
Alya comes back at 06:40 PM.
+ 01 hr : 10 min
─────────────
06 hr : 40 min → 06:40 PM
Lunch will end at 01:05 PM.
+ 00 hr : 35 min
─────────────
12 hr : 65 min
65 min = 60 min + 5 min = 1 hr 5 min
12 hr + 1 hr = 13 hr → 01:05 PM
It will be 05:00 AM the next morning.
35 min + 25 min = 60 min = 1 hour
04:35 AM + 25 min = 05:00 AM
Chapter 12 of 15 – Maths
- Previous: Chapter 11 Grandmother s Quilt
- Next: Chapter 13 Animal Jumps
- All chapters: NCERT Solutions Class 5 Maths
Also for This Chapter
NCERT Solutions Class 5 Maths Chapter 12 Racing Seconds – Overview
| Class | Class 5 |
| Subject | Maths |
| Chapter | 12 – Racing Seconds |
| Textbook pages | 155 – 163 |
| Questions solved | 53 |
| Session | 2027 |
| Format | Full answers on this page + PDF |
NCERT Solutions Class 5 Maths Chapter 12 – FAQs
Where can I download NCERT Solutions Class 5 Maths Chapter 12 Racing Seconds PDF?
Read every answer on this page, or download the free PDF from the table at the top.
Is this for the 2027 session?
Yes, it follows the latest NCERT Class 5 Maths book for 2027.
How many questions are solved in NCERT Class 5 Maths Chapter 12?
All 53 questions of the chapter (textbook pages 155 – 163) – the in-text questions, activities and the end-of-chapter exercises.
How should I use these solutions?
Read the chapter in the NCERT book first, attempt the questions yourself, then check your answers here.