How to Read Stop Watches

Stopwatches measure how long it takes to perform a particular activity. These are used in the world of sports to time swimming and track events. There are two kinds of stopwatches, digital and mechanical. Each type of stopwatch has a different method for tracking time.

Mechanical Stopwatch

• Set the hands to zero by pressing the large top button. Failure to reset the hands will result in an inaccurate measurement.


• Start the stopwatch by pressing the top button. The large hand counts the seconds. At the top of the stopwatch face is a smaller face with a smaller hand. This counts the minutes.


• Stop the stopwatch by pressing the top button. Determine where the big hand of the stopwatch has landed. Notice where the small hand is pointing. Combine these two numbers to get the total time. For example, if the big hand is on 30 and the small hand points to one, the time of the activity would be 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Digital Stopwatch

• Press the button to set the stopwatch to zero. Each brand of digital stopwatch is different and the buttons on top may perform different functions.


• Notice the three sets of numbers on a digital stopwatch. The first pair of numbers is minutes, followed by seconds and hundredths of a second. Therefore a reading of 1:30:05 would be 1 minute, 30 seconds and 5 hundredths of a second.


• Set the stopwatch according to the activity. Some digital stopwatches are designed to track and remember multiple readings. This helps determine time for events like lap swimming, where knowing each lap time is beneficial.