CLOCKS

The face or dial of a watch is a circle whose circumference is divided

into 60 equal parts, called minute spaces. A clock has two hands, the smaller
one is called the hour hand or short hand while the larger one is called the
minute hand or long hand.
Minute Hand

Hour Hand

Space b/w hour &

minute hand in 1
minute=

6
360

60 minute

1 minute

1 minute=

1 =

11
2

360
1 minute

2
min
11

1 11
=
2
2

12 hour
1
2

Two hands are overlap at 12 oclock. Next time

when both hands are overlap after travel 360 .
2 720
5
360= 360 11 = 11 =65 11 minute

The hands are in the same straight line when they are coincident or
opposite to each other.
When the two hands are at right angles, they are 15 minute spaces
apart.
When the hands are in opposite directions, they are 30 minute spaces
apart.
The two hands overlap each other every 65 5/11 minutes.
In a 12-hour gap the two hands would overlap /coincide 11times and
hence in a 24-hour gap 22 overlap would take place.
In a 12-hour gap the two hands would be perpendicular to each other
22 times.
In a 12-hour gap the two hands would be in a straight line 22 times.

 In a 12-hour gap the two hands would be in a straight line but opposite
in direction is 11 times.
In 60 minutes, the minute hand gains 55 minutes on the hour hand.
Too fast and too slow: If a watch or a clock indicates 8.15, when the
correct time is 8, it is said to be 15 minutes too fast.
On the other hand, if it indicates 7.45, when the correct time is 8, it is
said to be 15 minutes too slow.
Finding the angle between the hands of a clock is,
Angle ( )=30 H

Angle ( )=

11
M
2

11
M 30 H
2

The minute hand of a clock overtakes the hour hand at intervals of M

minutes of correct time. The clock gains or losses in a day by

(65 115 M )(60 24M )

Minutes

SOLVED PROBLEMS
1. An accurate clock shows 8 o'clock in the morning. Through how may
degrees will the hour hand rotate when the clock shows 2 o'clock in the
afternoon?
A. 154
B. 180
C. 170
D. 160
Explanation : We know that Angle traced by hour hand in 12 hrs = 360 ,
From 8 to 2, there are 6 hours, The angle traced by the hour hand in 6 hours
= 6360/12=180
2. Find at what time between 8 and 9 oclock will the hands of a clock be in
the same straight line but not together.
Same straight line but not together means angle is 180.

Angle ( )=30 H
M =60

11
11
M , 180= 30(8)M ,
2
2

11
M =240-180=60.
2

2 120
10
=
=10 minute past 8 hour .
11 11
11

3. What is the angle between the two hands of a clock at 3:27 p.m.?
11
11
Angle ( )=30 H M , = 30 3
(27) = 90o 148.5o = 58.5o (here
2
2
no need to represent the negative in that)
4. At what time between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. is the angle between the two
hands of a clock 28?
There are two possibilities:
1. Minute hand is ahead of the hour hand.
2. Hour hand is ahead of the minute hand.
11
2
CASE 1 : Angle ( )=30 H 2 M , 28=30(2)-11/2 M, M= 11 88=16 min

CASE 2 :

Angle ( )=

11
2
9
M 30 H , 28=11/2 M - 30H, M=
32=5 min
2
11
11

Thus, there are two points of time at which the angle between the two hands
is 28 and these two points of time are 16 minutes past 2 a.m. and

9
11

minutes past 2 a.m.

5. A watch which gains uniformly is 5 minute slow at 8 oclock in the morning
on Sunday and it is 5 minute 48 sec fast at 8 p.m. on following Sunday. When
was it correct?
Time from 8 a.m. on Sunday to 8 p.m. on following Sunday.
7 days 12 hours = 180 hours.
4
54
The watch gains [5+5 5 ] min. or 5 min. in 180 hrs.
Now 54/5 min. is gained in 180 hrs.

(180 545 5)

5 min. are gained in

hrs. = 83 hrs 20 min. = 3 days 11 hrs 20

min.
It will be correct at 20 min. past 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
6. The minute hand of a clock overtakes the hour hand at intervals of 64
minutes of the correct time. How much a day does the clock gain or lose?

55min spaces are covered in 60min, spaces are covered in

65

60
60)
55

5
minute .
11
5
16
64=
11
11 min.

Loss in 64min =

65

Loss in 24 hrs =

{1611 2464 60}=32 118 minute.

7. A clock is set right at 5 a.m. The clock loses 16 minutes in 24 hours. What
will be the true time when the clock indicates 10 p.m. on 4th day?
Time from 5 a.m. on a day to 10 p.m. on 4th day = 89 hours.
Now 23 hrs 44 min. of this clock = 24 hours of correct clock.
23 hrs 44 min = 356/15 hrs of this clock = 24 hours of correct clock.
89 hrs of this clock =

(24

15
89)
356

hrs of correct clock = 90 hrs of correct

clock.
So, the correct time is 11 p.m.
8. A clock is set right at 8 a.m. The clock gains 10 minutes in 24 hours will be
the true time when the clock indicates 1 p.m. on the following day?
Time from 8 a.m. on a day 1 p.m. on the following day = 29 hours.
24 hours 10 min. of this clock = 24 hours of the correct clock.
145
Hrs of this clock = 24 hrs of the correct clock.
6

29 hrs of this clock =

(24

6
29)
145

hrs of the correct clock = 28 hrs 48

min.
The correct time is 28 hrs 48 min. after 8 a.m. This is 48 min. past 12.
9. A watch which gains 5 seconds in 3 minutes was set right at 7 a.m. In the
afternoon of the same day, when the watch indicated quarter past 4 o'clock,
the true time is.
A. 3 pm
Explanation:

B. 3.45 pm

C. 3.30 pm

D. 4 pm

Time from 7 am to 4.15 pm = 9 hours 15 minutes =

1
4

hours=

37
4

hours
37
60=555 minute .
4

=>

3 minute 5 seconds of the given clock = 3 minutes of a normal clock.

3

5
60

37
Min=> 12

Minutes of the given clock = 3 minutes of a normal clock.

1 min of the given clock=

555 min of the given clock=

12
of normal clock .
37

555 3

12
=540 minute normal time .
37

540 min= 9 hrs, 7am to 9 hr is 4pm.

10. The minute hand of a clock overtakes the hour hand at intervals of 65
minutes. How much a day does the clock gain or loss?
A.

10

9
143

minutes

B.

11

9
143

minutes

10
C. 11 143

minutes

D.

10

10
143

Exp:

minutes

(65 115 M )(60 24M )

(65 115 65)( 6065 24 )

5 12 24 1440
10
=
=10
minutes
11
13
143
143

11. If a clock takes 7sec to strike 7, how long will the same clock take to
strike 10?
Exp: The clock strikes for the first time at the start and takes 7 seconds for 6
intervals-thus for one interval time taken=7/6.
Therefore, for 10 seconds there are 9 intervals and time taken is 9*7/6=10
and 1/2 seconds.
12. At what time the clock hands position is a mirror image of the hands
position at 4:08 along the line crossing the 12 and 6 hour marks?
Exp: The clock shown in Fig. 1 is at 4:08. The hands position of the clock
shown in Fig. 2 is a mirror image of that in Fig. 1.
The minute hand
The difference between the 12 oclock position and the minute hands
position at 4:08 is 8 minutes. Therefore, the minute hands mirror image
must be 8 minutes to the left of the 12 oclock position or 8 minutes before
the hour. See Fig. 3. This is the same as saying that the time in Fig. 2 is 52
minutes past the hour (since 60 min 8 min = 52 min).

The hour hand

The hour hands position at 4:08 is between the 4 and 5 hour marks. These
marks are horizontally across the 8 and 7 hour marks. Thus, the hour hand at
4:08 must have a mirror image (along the vertical line crossing the 12 and 6
o'clock position) that is between the 7 and 8 hour marks.
Therefore, the mirror image's time is 7:52.