The measurement of time covers an incredible range. Here are some common time spans, from the shortest to the longest:
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1 picosecond (one-trillionth of a second) - about the shortest period of time we can currently measure accurately
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1 nanosecond (one-billionth of a second) - 2 to 4 nanoseconds is how long a computer takes to do one software instruction
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1 microsecond (one-millionth of a second)
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1 millisecond (one-thousandth of a second) - how quickly a camera takes a picture
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1 centisecond (one-hundreth of a second) - a lightning strike
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1 decisecond (one-tenth of a second) - a blink of an eye
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1 second - an average person's heart beats once each second
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60 seconds - one minute, a long TV ad
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1 minute - the longest most people can hold their breath
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2 minutes - the longest anyone can hold their breath
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60 minutes - an hour, about as long as a lesson
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6 hours - the typical school day
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8 hours - the typical amount of sleep a person needs every night
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24 hours - one day (the amount of time for the Earth to rotate one time on its axis)
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7 days - one week
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40 days - about the longest a person can survive without food
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365.24 days - one year, the amount of time it takes for the planet Earth to complete one orbit around the sun
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10 years - one decade
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75 years - the typical life span for a human being
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5,000 years - the span of human history
Related pages: Time
Category: Maths
Author: Mr Kershaw