Dummy Clock for School Maths Lab

Quick Answer: A Dummy Clock is a non-working clock face with hands that students move by hand to show and read times. The dummy clock is used for practising analogue time, counting minutes in fives, relating analogue times to digital ones and solving elapsed-time problems.

Setting the Hands Yourself

Reading a working clock is a matter of looking; setting one by hand is a matter of understanding. When the teacher says ‘show half past three’, each pupil must decide where both hands go. The minute hand points to 6, and the hour hand sits halfway between 3 and 4. Pupils who place the hour hand exactly on the 3 reveal a common gap in understanding, and the clock makes it visible to the teacher at a glance.

The title does not say whether the hands are linked by gears. That affects how the clock is used. With independent hands, pupils have to position the hour hand themselves, which is good practice. With a geared clock, turning the minute hand carries the hour hand along automatically, which suits demonstrations of passing time. The Geared Teacher Clock in the same range works the second way.

A clock face also carries more mathematics than it first seems. The twelve numbers split sixty minutes into intervals of five, which is the five times table arranged in a circle. Quarter past, half past and quarter to are fractions of an hour. Writing the matching digital time, and later the 24-hour time, next to each setting links the analogue face to the displays pupils see every day.

Specifications

Applications

• Showing times called out by the teacher and checking hand positions
• Counting minutes in fives around the face
• Matching analogue settings to 12-hour and 24-hour digital times
• Solving elapsed-time problems by moving the minute hand forward

Care & Handling

• Turn the hands gently; forcing them loosens the centre fixing.
• Store the clocks flat so the hands are not bent in a crowded drawer.
• Wipe the face with a dry cloth; avoid soaking a card or wooden face.

Why Choose LabEquip

Primary teachers usually want one clock per pupil or pair, so the whole class can hold up an answer at the same moment. LabEquip lists this teaching clock in Mathematics School Lab Products; send your class size through the LabEquip contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a dummy clock?

It is a clock face with movable hands but no working mechanism. Pupils set the hands to show a time, which makes them think about where each hand belongs instead of simply reading a clock that is already running.

Where should the hour hand point at half past three?

Halfway between 3 and 4. The hour hand moves steadily through the hour, so at half past it has gone half the distance to the next number. Placing it exactly on the 3 is a common mistake worth correcting early.

How do pupils count minutes on the clock face?

Each number on the face marks five more minutes, so pupils count in fives from the 12: the 1 is 5 minutes, the 2 is 10, and the 9 is 45. Twelve numbers of five minutes each make the sixty minutes in an hour.

How is this clock different from the geared teacher clock?

On a geared clock the hands are linked, so turning the minute hand moves the hour hand correctly. This listing’s title does not say its hands are geared, and with independent hands pupils must place the hour hand themselves.

How can the clock teach elapsed time?

Set the start time, then move the minute hand forward in steps of five or fifteen minutes while counting, until it reaches the finish time. Counting the jumps gives the time that has passed.

How does the dummy clock help with digital time?

After setting a time, pupils write it in digital form beside the clock, for example 4:45, and later in 24-hour form, 16:45 for the afternoon. Seeing both forms together helps them move between the two.

Last Updated: September 2026