Timer
Contents
Key Stage 1
Meaning
A timer is a piece of equipment used to find out how long something takes to happen.
About Timers
There are lots of different timers. Some timers have an alarm that goes off after a certain time. Some timers can be stopped to find out how long something took to happen. These are called stopwatches or stopclocks.
Examples
- A chef made sure the eggs were only boiled for 5 minutes.
- A scientist measured how long it takes to count to 100.
- A scientist wanted to see who could get to the other side of the field in the least time.
Used in a sentence
- An egg timer was set to go off after 5 minutes.
- A scientist used a timer to time how long it took to count to 100.
- A scientist used a timer to measure how long it took each person to run across the field.
Key Stage 2
Meaning
A timer, usually called a stopwatch, is a scientific instrument used to measure how much time it takes for something to happen.
Key Stage 3
Meaning
A timer, usually called a stopwatch, is a scientific instrument used to measure how much time it takes for something to happen.
About Stopwatches
- A stopwatch can usually give a time to an accuracy of to 10 milliseconds.
- Most stopwatches have a 'lap' function that will keep the timer going in the background while the time that the 'lap' button was pressed will stay on screen until it is pressed again.
- Stopwatches are subject to human error because humans cannot always react instantly to an event. Any time recorded is probably longer than the real time because it took time for the human to react.