Exam timer, sections, breaks and warnings.

An exam timer counts down a whole exam in parts. List the sections and the breaks, press Start, and the big clock counts down the part you are in, moves to the next one by itself, and shows the clock time the exam ends. Chimes warn you before a part ends, a different chime marks the end of a section, a break and the whole exam, and it all keeps time in a background tab. Use it to practise at home, to run a mock exam for a class, or to keep a real one on schedule.

How to use the exam timer

1. Pick a Preset, such as 2 sections + break, or build your own under Your exam: type a name and the minutes for each part, and choose Section or Break. The arrows move a part up or down and the cross removes it.
2. Use Add section and Add break for more parts. The total length is shown under the list.
3. Choose when you want a warning: 15, 10, 5 or 1 minute before a part ends. Turn Sound on off for a silent timer.
4. Press Start. The ring and the digits show the part you are in. The list shows each part with its clock times.
5. Pause stops the clock and Resume carries on. Next part skips ahead, +1 min adds a minute to the part you are in, Reset starts over, and Full screen fills the screen so a room can see it.

Worked examples

A 180 minute exam started at 9:00 AM ends at 12:00 PM. With the warnings at 10, 5 and 1 minute, the chimes ring at 11:50, 11:55 and 11:59, and the long three-tone chime rings at 12:00.

The 2 sections + break preset is 45 minutes, a 10 minute break and 45 minutes, a total of 100 minutes. Started at 9:00 AM, section 1 ends at 9:45, the break ends at 9:55 and section 2 ends at 10:40. The 3 sections + breaks preset is 40 + 5 + 40 + 5 + 40 = 130 minutes, which is 2 hours 10 minutes. Reading time, then writing is 10 + 110 = 120 minutes.

What the colours and sounds mean

• The ring turns amber in the last 5 minutes of a section and red in the last minute.
• A break shows a green ring, so you can see at a glance that the clock is not counting writing time.
• A warning is two short tones. A section ending is a falling two-note chime. A break ending is three quick tones, so you know to be back in your seat. The end of the exam is three long tones.

It keeps time when the tab is hidden

The clock is based on the real time, not on counting ticks, so a tab in the background, a laptop that was asleep or a page that was reloaded still shows the right time left. Every chime is booked on the audio clock when you press Start (and booked again after Pause, Next part or +1 min), so a warning rings on time in a throttled tab. The plan and a running timer are saved in this browser. If you reload while it runs, it carries on, but the chimes stay silent until you press Pause and then Resume, because browsers only allow sound after a click.

Tips for practising

• Build the timer to match the real paper: the same number of sections, the same breaks and the same lengths. Your exam board or teacher gives those; this page does not know them.
• Run a full mock with the warnings on, because the 10 and 5 minute chimes are what tell you to finish a question and check your work.
• Keep the screen from sleeping. The page asks the browser to hold the screen awake while the timer runs, where the browser allows it.
• If a part has extra time for a reason such as an accommodation, edit the minutes for that part before you start.

Limits

You can add up to 30 parts, each from 0.1 to 1,440 minutes. Edits are locked while the timer runs, so press Reset first. This is a countdown, not an official exam clock, so check the invigilator's time for a real exam. For a single countdown with a custom time, the online timer is simpler. For study blocks with breaks, try the Pomodoro timer, and for short fixed lengths, the 60 minute timer.