How Do We Tell Time Today, and How Was It Done in the Past?

This section helps children understand how people measure time today using modern devices, and how time was measured in ancient times using the sun, water, sand, and clever inventions. Knowing how timekeeping has evolved shows how human life has become more organised over centuries.

How Do We Tell Time Today?

• Digital Clocks: Use numbers to display hours and minutes — found on phones, ovens, alarm clocks, and more.

• Analogue Clocks: Use rotating hands to show time — common in schools, offices, and public spaces.

• Smart Watches: Show time and also track steps, heart rate, and send messages.

• Wall Clocks: Large clocks found in classrooms, homes, and railway stations.

• Mobile Phones: Most people use phones to check time, set alarms, and track world clocks.

• Computers and Laptops: Automatically show the current time on the screen.

• Microwaves and Appliances: Many kitchen devices display the current time when idle.

• Digital Billboards: City signs and advertising screens often display the date and time.

How Was Time Measured in the Past?

• Sundials: Flat plates with a shadow-casting stick used by ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Indians.

• Water Clocks (Clepsydra): Used in China, Babylon, and ancient India to measure time using water flow.

• Hourglasses: Glass devices with sand flowing from one bulb to another used in Europe and Arabia.

• Burning Candles: Special candles marked with time intervals that showed time as they melted.

• Incense Clocks (China): Used sticks of incense that burned at known speeds to mark time.

• Oil Lamps (Middle East and India): Burned at a fixed rate, with markings to indicate time passage.

• Obelisks (Ancient Egypt): Tall stone structures used to track the sun’s movement and shadows during the day.

• Mechanical Tower Clocks (Europe): Found in church towers from the 1300s — used bells to strike each hour.

• Astronomical Clocks: Designed in ancient Islamic and European cultures to show the time based on stars, planets, and the sun.

Important Timekeeping Inventions in History

• Water Clocks in Ancient China and India: Used for temple and royal timekeeping duties.
• Mechanical Clocks (13th century Europe): First accurate clocks with gears and weights.
• Marine Chronometer (18th century): Helped sailors determine longitude accurately at sea.
• Quartz Clock (20th century): Used crystals to keep extremely precise time.
• Atomic Clock (20th century): The most accurate clock in the world, used in satellites and GPS systems.

Why Is Timekeeping Important?

• It helps us wake up, get to school, and attend meetings on time.
• It keeps buses, trains, and aeroplanes running on a proper schedule.
• It helps farmers, shopkeepers, and students plan their day.
• It helps people all around the world stay connected in different time zones.

More Links

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5. What are landmarks, and how did sailors use them before GPS?
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