In the past two activities, you looked at some of the advantages and disadvantages of using the 24-hour clock. In this activity, you will look at how the 24-hour clock is used in everyday life.          

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One of the main groups that uses the 24-hour clock is the military. This allows them to make sure that there is no miscommunication about when something is going to occur.

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For example, when Canadian soldiers are fighting in different places in the world, they rely on the 24-hour clock. By using this clock, there is no way that an infantry platoon that is supposed to meet up with some of the tanks to go out on patrol can miss the meeting time. Both the tanks and the infantry would be told a time and the two leaders would synchronize their watches to make sure they read the same time. It would be impossible for one of the two leaders to think that the meeting was for 7 p.m. instead of 7 a.m. because of the way the order is given.

Another group that uses the 24-hour clock is health care workers.

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When you go into a hospital in the evening because you are not feeling well, they do not put down that you entered at 8 p.m. on your chart. It would read 2000 hours. That way, there is no possibility for a misunderstanding to occur. The same thing happens when you are given medication. The time is written using the 24-hour clock so that you are not given another dose too soon or have one missed.

Trains and airplanes also run on the 24-hour clock. This allows both industries to easily tell when a train or a plane will depart and when it will arrive at its destination.

Emergency response teams also use the 24-hour clock for the same reasons as those above. It ensures that there is no possibility of miscommunication about what time something occurred.