Reasoning

Clocks

2 min read

Introduction

Welcome! The aim of this topic is to help you solve the various kinds of problems on Clock. The first section is an introduction to Clocks where we have shared some important points about clocks. The exercises contain solved question and answers on Clocks. When solving exercises, we recommend you to try solving the problems on your own, then view the solution.

By the end of this post, you will learn to solve the following types of problems:

  1. Can you find the angle between hands of a clock at a particular time?
  2. Can you find the angle traversed by the hour hand from certain time to certain time?
  3. If a watch loses x minutes every hour, can you estimate when will it show correct time again?

Points to Remember

  • A clock has two hands. The smaller hand is the hour hand, while the larger one is the minute hand.
  • Speed of the hour hand = .5 degrees per minute.
  • Speed of the minute hand = 6 degrees per minute
  • At ‘n’ o clock, the angle of the hour hand from the vertical is 30n
  • Hands of a clock meet at a gap of 65 5/11 minutes
  • Hands of a clock meet 11 times in 12 hours and 22 times in a day
  • Hands of a clock are perfectly opposite to each other 11 times in 12 hours and 22 times in a day
  • Any other angle is made 22 times in 12 hours and 44 times in a day
  • Hour hand traces 360º in 12 hours, while minute hand traces 360º in 1 hour.
  • If the clock displays 7 : 05 am when the actual time is 7 : 00 am, the clock is said to be 5 minutes fast.
  • If the clock displays 6 : 55 am when the actual time is 7 : 00 am, the clock is said to be 5 minutes slow.

Exercise

Practice

Clocks - Exercise - Blog

15 questions

  1. Find the angle between hands of the clock at 3:30 am.
    • 90°
    • 75°
    • 45°
    • 30°
    Show the answer

    Answer: 75°

    Angle made by the minute hand with vertical at 3 o'clock is 30 x 3 = 90°
    In 30 minutes angle traversed by hour hand = 30 x .5 = 15°
    Hence, at 3:30 angle made by the hour hand with the vertical 90 + 15 = 105°

    In 30 minutes angle made by the minute hand with the vertical = 30 x 6 = 180°

    Now, the angle between hour hand and minute hand is 180 - 105 = 75°

  2. Find the angle between hour hand and minute hand at 9:45 am.
    • 0°
    • 45°
    • 22.5°
    • 17.5°
    Show the answer

    Answer: 22.5°

    Angle made by the minute hand with vertical at 9 o'clock is 30 x 9 = 270°
    In 45 minutes angle traversed by hour hand = 45 x .5 = 22.5°
    Hence, at 9:45 angle made by the hour hand with the vertical 270 + 22.5 = 292.5°

    In 45 minutes angle made by the minute hand with the vertical = 45 x 6 = 270°

    Now, the angle between hour hand and minute hand is 292.5 - 270 = 22.5°

  3. Find the angle traversed by the hour hand from 9:00 am to 3:20 pm.
    • 190°
    • 270°
    • 145°
    • 180°
    Show the answer

    Answer: 190°

    The number of minutes traversed by the hour hand in 6 hours 20 minutes is 60 x 6 + 20 = 380
    Since, the hour hand traverses .5° every minute,
    the angle traversed by the hour hand in 380 minutes = 280 x 0.5 = 190°

  4. Ram starts from home at 9 am and returns back on the afternoon of same day when the hour hand minute hand interchange their positions. Find the angle traversed by the hour hand during this period.
    • 270°
    • 145°
    • 90°
    • 112.5°
    Show the answer

    Answer: 112.5°

    When the hands of a clock interchange their position, the time would be 12:45 pm. The number of minutes from 9 am to 12 45 pm is 225. Angle traversed by the hour hand during this period is .5 x 225 = 112.5°.

  5. How many times in a day are the hands of a clock straight?
    • 11
    • 22
    • 33
    • 44
    Show the answer

    Answer: 44

    In 12 hours, the hands of a clock coincide or are opposite in direction 22 times.
    Hence, in 24 hours the hands of a clock coincide or are opposite in direction 44 times.

  6. At what time between 5 and 6 do the hands of a clock meet each other
    • 5:30
    • 5:25
    • 5:27
    • 5:32
    Show the answer

    Answer: 5:27

    Let the hands of a clock meet each other 't' minutes after 5 o'clock. Then,

    Angle made by hour hand with the vertical = 30x5 + 0.5 x t = 150 + .5t
    Angle made by minute hand with the vertical = 6t

    When the two hands meet each other, the angle between them will be 0.

    Hence,

    150 + .5t - 6t = 0
    t = $\frac{150}{5.5}$ = 27$\frac{3}{11}$
    The two hands of a clock meet at 5 : 27 : 3/11

  7. At the what time between 1 and 2 do the hands of a clock meet each other.
    • 1:35
    • 1:29
    • 1:38
    • 1:40
    Show the answer

    Answer: 1:38

    Let the hands of a clock meet each other 't' minutes after 1 o'clock. Then,

    Angle made by hour hand with the vertical = 30x1 + 0.5 x t = 30 + .5t
    Angle made by minute hand with the vertical = 6t

    When the two hands are opposite to each other, the angle between them will be 180.

    Hence,

    6t - (30 + .5t) = 180
    5.5t = 210
    t = $\frac{210}{5.5}$ = 38$\frac{2}{11}$
    The two hands of a clock are oppposite between 1 and 2 o' clock at 1 : 38 : 2/11

  8. At what time between 3 and 4 am are the hands of a clock perpendicular to each other.
    • 3 : 32
    • 3 : 30
    • 3 : 27
    • 3 : 35
    Show the answer

    Answer: 3 : 32

    Let the hands of a clock meet perpendicular to each other 't' minutes after 3. Then,

    Angle made by hour hand with the vertical = 30x3 + 0.5 x t = 90 + .5t
    Angle made by minute hand with the vertical = 6t

    Between 3 and 4, the two hands can be perpendicular before or after they meet. Hence,

    Case 1 : Before the hands meet
    90 + .5t - 6t = 90
    t = 0 minutes.
    Hence, the hands are perpendicular at 3 o'clock

    Case 1 : After the hands meet
    90 + .5t - 6t = 90
    t = 0 minutes.
    Hence, the hands are perpendicular at 3 o'clock

    6t - (90 + .5t) = 90
    5.5t = 180
    t = $\frac{180}{5.5}$ = 32.72
    The two hands of a clock are perpendicular 32.72 minutes after 3 o'clock

  9. What is the time interval between the successive meets of the minute hand and hour hand?
    • 66$\frac{6}{11}$ minutes
    • 65$\frac{5}{11}$ minutes
    • 60 minutes
    • 55$\frac{5}{11}$ minutes
    Show the answer

    Answer: 65$\frac{5}{11}$ minutes

    In one minute hand covers 6°, while hour hand covers .5°. Hence the minute hand gains 5.5° on hour hand ever minute.
    The minute hand will meet hour hand again when it gains 360° over the minute hand. The number of minutes taken to gain 360° = $\frac{360}{5.5}$ = 65$\frac{5}{11}$ minutes

  10. After how many minutes past 6 does the minute hand cross the hour hand?
    • 29 minutes after 6 o' clock
    • 32 minutes after 6 o' clock
    • 25 minutes after 6 o' clock
    • 40 minutes after 6 o' clock
    Show the answer

    Answer: 32 minutes after 6 o' clock

    Let the minute hand cross hour hand 't' minutes after 6 o'clock. Then,

    Angle made by hour hand with the vertical = 30x6 + 0.5 x t = 180 + .5t
    Angle made by minute hand with the vertical = 6t

    When the minute hands crosses the hour hand, the angle made by both the hands with the vertical will be same.

    Hence,

    180 + .5t = 6t
    t = $\frac{180}{5.5}$ = 32.72
    The minute hands crosses the hour hand 32.72 minutes after 6 o' clock

  11. A watch gains 3 seconds every 2 minutes. If it was set right at 12:00 AM. What time will it show at 12:00 noon.
    • 12 : 00 PM
    • 12 : 15 PM
    • 12 : 18 PM
    • 12 : 12 PM
    Show the answer

    Answer: 12 : 18 PM

    Since the watch gains 3 seconds in 2 minutes, in 1 hour it will gain 3 x $\frac{60}{2}$ = 90 seconds

    From 12:00 AM to 12:00 PM, i.e in 12 hours, the watch gains

    90 x $12$ = 1080 seconds or 18 minutes,

    Hence at 12 noon, the time on the watch is 12:18 pm

  12. A watch loses 10 seconds in every 3 minutes and was set right at 9:00 am. If it shows 5:30 pm in the same day. What is the correct time?
    • 6 : 00 PM
    • 5 : 30 PM
    • 5 : 45 PM
    • 5 : 15 Pm
    Show the answer

    Answer: 6 : 00 PM

    Since the watch loses 10 seconds in 3 minutes, it will lose 1 minute in 3 x $\frac{60}{10}$ = 18 mins.

    i.e when the incorrect watch completes 17 minutes, the correct watch completes 18 minutes.
    Hence, if the incorrect watch takes 1 minute, the correct watch takes $\frac{18}{17}$ minutes

    When the incorrect watch moves from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM, i.e 8 and half hours or 510 minutes, the correct watch moves 510 x $\frac{18}{17}$ = 540 minutes or 9 hours.

    Hence when the incorrect watch shows 5 : 30 pm, the correct time is 6 pm

  13. How much does a watch gain or lose per day, if its hands coincide every 66 minutes.
    • 10 minutes
    • 12 minutes
    • 14 minutes
    • 16 minutes
    Show the answer

    Answer: 12 minutes

    In a correct watch, the hands coincide every 65$\frac{5}{11}$ minutes.

    If the hands coincide every 66 minutes, then
    the gain in 66 minutes is 66 - 65$\frac{5}{11}$ = $\frac{6}{11}$

    Gain in 24 hours = $\frac{6}{11}$ x $\frac{1}{66}$ x 24 x 60 = 11.9 minutes ~ 12 minutes

  14. A watch which loses 10 minutes every hour was set right at 6:00 am on Sunday. When will it show correct time again?
    • 6:00 am on Monday
    • 6:00 am on Tuesday
    • 6:00 am on Wednesday
    • 6:00 am on Thursday
    Show the answer

    Answer: 6:00 am on Wednesday

    For the watch to show correct time again, it has to lose 12 hours.

    Since the watch loses 10 minutes in 1 hour, it will lose 12 hours or 720 minutes in $\frac{720}{10}$ i.e 72 hours or 3 days.

    Hence the watch will show correct time at 6 am on wednesday.

  15. Two watches show same time at 9 am Monday. The first clock loses 5 minutes every 1 hour and the second gains 5 minutes every hour. When will they both show same time again?
    • 9 PM Monday
    • 9 AM Tuesday
    • 9 PM Wednesday
    • 9 AM Thurday
    Show the answer

    Answer: 9 AM Thurday

    Since the first clock loses 5 minutes every hour and second clock gains 5 minute every hour, the first clock is behind the second clock by 10 minutes at the end of an hour.

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