Mental Ability

CHAPTER
18 Clocks
The face of the dial of a watch is a circle whose circumference is divided into 6 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.
1. Angle traced by hour hand in 12 hrs=360

2. Angle traced by minute hand in 60 min.=360

360°
3. 1 minute space =
60
(As 360 of the circle is divided into 60 minutes).
0
360 360 1
4. In one minute,the hour hand moves
12 60 720 2
(As there are 12 hours of 60 minutes each)
o
1
Thus,in one minute the minute hand gains 5 over the hour hand.
2
5. In 60 minutes, the minute hand gains 55 minutes on the hour hand.
6. In every hour,both the hands coincide once.
7. The hands coincide 11 times in every 12 hours (between 11 and 1 o’clock there is a common position
at 12 o,clock).Hence,the hands coincide 22 times in a day.

8. The hands are in the same straight line when they are coincident or opposite to each other.

9. When the hands are in opposite direction,they are 30 minute spaces apart.

1 0 . When the two hands are at right angles, they are 15 minute spaces apart.

1 1 . The hands of a clock are at right angles twice in every hour, but in 12 hours they are at right angles
22 times since there are two common positions in every 12 hours.
1 2 . Interchangeable positions of minute hand and hour hand occur when the original interval between the two
60
hands is minute spaces or a multiple of this.
13
True time interval 1
=
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Time interval in incorrect clock 1 ± hour gained/lost in 1 hour by incorrect clock

• (+) when incorrect clock gains time,

• (–) when incorrect clocks losses time.
5
1 3 .In a correct (true) clock,both hands coincide at a interval of 65 minutes.
11
5
But,if both hands coincide at an interval of x minutes ( 65 ) of correct time,then the clock is incorrect
11
5
65 x
and, total time gained/lost = 60T× 11 min.
x
(in T hours of correct time)

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Class X
E x . 1 How to find the angle between the hands of a clock?
A. If "H" is the hours and "M" is the minutes, then angle can be directly obtained by
ANGLE = 30H - (11/2)M
S o l . We know that,
1
1 . hour hand moves degree in a minute or 30 degree in an hour, and minute hand travels 6 degree a
2
minute so gains 5.5 degree a minute
2 . When the time is H:M( H hour : M minutes), the individual angle traversed by each hand will be "30 degree
* H, and 5.5 * M (Considering angle is measured w.r.t the hour hand position from the stand-up position at
12:00 midnight)"
3 . Subtract the two quantities, i.e. 30H - 5.5M.
For example:
1 . at 9:30, angle is 30*9 - (11/2)*30 = 270-165=105 degrees..
2 . at 12:00, angle is 30*12-0=360
3 . at 5:35, angle is 30*5 - (11/2)*35 =150-385/2=42.5
E x . 2 How many times are the two hands of the clock at right angles in a day?
A. 44.
S o l . • The minute hand moves 360 degrees in 60 minutes. This means that the angle of the minute hand is given
by 6t, where t is number of minutes past midnight.
• The hour hand moves 30 degrees in 60 minutes. This means that the angle of the minutes hand is given by 0.5t.
• The hands start together at midnight. The first time they make a 90 degree angle is when the minute hand
has moved 90 degrees further than the hour hand,
• So this is given by the equation:
6t = 0.5t + 90
5.5t = 90
t = 16 4/11
• In other words about 16 minutes past midnight.
• The next time is when the minutes hand has gained another 180 degrees on the hour hand, and is 90
degrees behind it:
6t = 0.5t + 270
5.5t = 270
t = 49 1/11
At about 11 minutes to 1 o'clock.
• For every 180 degrees that the minute hand gains on the hour hand there will be one 90 degree angle, so every
6
49 1/11 - 16 4/11 = 32 8/11 minutes or hour
11
One day=24 hours = 1440 minutes.
1440 / (32 8/11) = 44.
• So every 24 hours there are 44 right angles between minute hand and hour hand.
• This happens every 32 minutes, 43.64 seconds, starting at 12:16:22.
• The times are:
12:16:22, 12:49:05, 01:21:49, 01:54:33, 02:27:16, 03:00:00, 03:32:44, 04:05:27, 04:38:11,
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05:10:55, 05:43:38, 06:16:22, 06:49:05, 07:21:49, 07:54:33, 08:27:16, 09:00:00, 09:32:44,

10:05:27, 10:38:11, 11:10:55, 11:43:38.
• This is for a 12 hour clock, then it would repeat for the PM times, so 44 times each day.
E x . 3 At what frequency of time the two hands of the clock overlap/coincide?
S o l . Counting from midnight at 12:00(the first time of coincidence), the next time occurs when minute hand advances
over hour hand by 360 degree. Since minute hand advances 55 min in 60 min over hour hand, the equation
that forms is
6t=0.5t+360,
Or, 5.5t=360,
3600 5
Or, t = = 65 minutes , or 12/11 hours interval
55 11
In 1440 min,
1440 55
= 22
3600
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 Mental Ability
E x . 4 How to find the exact time between a given time interval (t, t+1) when the two hands overlap each other?

12 12 60
S o l . It is given by (t× – t) × 60 minutes past t time. i.e., t( - 1) × 60 = t minutes pas t t time .
11 11 11

60 8
example: Between 6 & 7, the two hands overlap at × 6= 32 minutes past 6 o'clock.
11 11
E x . 5 How to find the exact time between a given time interval (t, t + 1) when the two hands are at right angles?
60
S o l . A. We know that, hands overlap at × t minutes past t time, therefore at the time ±15minutes before and
11
after coinciding during the time interval t & t+1, the hands will be at right angles.
12
B. Since 55 minutes are gained by min hand in 60 min, 15 min are gained in minutes.
11
60 12
C. So the direct formula is × t ± 15 ×
11 11
E x . 6 At what time between 5 and 6 are the minute and hour hands 7 minute apart?
(a) 19 7/11 min past 4 (b) 19 7/11 min past 5 (c) 34 10/11 min past 5 (d) 32 10/11 min past 5
S o l . 6t = 0.5t + (150 ± 7 × 6)
Or, 5.5t = 192 & 5.5t = 108
10 7
Or, t = 34 , 19 minutes past 5 so b),c) are correct.
11 11
E x . 7 A minute hand of a clock overtakes the hour hand at intervals of 63 minutes of correct time. How much time
does the clock lose or gain per day?
5
A. We know that in any clock the min hand overlaps the hour hand at interval of 65 min.
11
5 5 27
B. Thus, the clock is gaining 65 – 63 = 2 min = min in 63 min.
11 11 11
27 60 24 8
C. Therefore time gained in 24hr = = 56 min
11 63 77
Solved examples
E x . 1 A watch which gains uniformly,is 5 min. slow at 8 o’clock in the morning on sunday and it i 5 min. 48
sec. fast at 8 p.m. on following sunday.Whan was it correct ?
S o l . Time from 8 a.. on sunday to 8 p.m. on following sunday=7 days 12 hours=180 hours.
4 54 54
The watch gains (5 + 5 ) min. or min. in 180 hrs. Now min. are gained in 180 hrs.
5 5 5
5
5 min. are gained in (180 5 ) hrs.=83 hrs 20 min. = 3 days 11 hrs 20 min.
54
Watch is correct 3 days 11 hrs 20 min. after 8 a.m. of sunday
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It will be correct at 20 min. past 7 p.m. on Wednesday

E x . 2 A clock is set right at 1 p.m.If it gains one minute in an hour,then what is the true time when the
clock indicates 6 p.m. the same day ?
S o l . Time interval indicated by incorrect clock = 6 p.m. – 1 p.m. = 5 hours.
1
Time gained by incorrect clock in one hour = + 1 minute = + hour..
60
True time interval 1
Using the formula, =
Time interval in incorrect clock 1+ hour gained in 1 hour by incorrect clock
True time interval 1 5 60 56
= True time interval = =4
5 1 61 61
1
60
56 56 56
True time = 1 p.m. + 4 hrs. = 5 p.m. + hrs. = 5 p.m. + 60 min. = 55 5 minutes pastt 5.
61 61 61 61
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Class X
E x . 3 A clock gains 5 minutes in 24 hours.It was set right at 10 a.m. om monday.What will be the true time
when the clock indicates 10:30 a.m. on the next sunday ?
1
S o l . Time between 10 a.m. on Monday to 10:30 a.m. on Sunday = 144 hours.
2
1
24 hours of incorrect clock=24 hours of correct time.
12
1
144 hours of incorrect clock=x hours of correct time.
2

1
144 24
x = 2 = 144 hours i.e. The true time is 10 a.m. on sunday.
1
24
12

E x . 4 At what time between 3 and 4 o’clock are the hands of a clock together ?
S o l . At 3 o’clock, the hour hand is at 3 and the minute hand is at 12 i.e., they are 15 min. spaces apart. To be
together, the minute hand must gain 15 min. over the hour hand. Now 55 min. are gained in 60 min.

60 4
15 min. will be gained in ( 15 ) min.= 16 min.
55 11

4
So,the hands will coincide at 16 min. past 3.
11

E x . 5 Find at what time between 8 and 9 o’clock will the hands of a clockbe in the same straight line but not togather.
S o l . At 8 o’clock, the hour hand is at 8 and the min. hand is at 12 i.e., the two hands are at 20 min. spaces
apart.To be in the same straight line but not togather they will be 30 min. spaces apart. So, the min. hand will
have to gain (30 – 20) = 10 min. spaces over the hour hand.
Now, 55 min. are gained in 60 min.

60 10
10min. will be gained in ( 10) min = 10 min.
55 11

10
The hand will be in the same line but not togather at 10 min. past 8.
11

E x . 6 Two men run a race of 200 meters. Man A wins by 10 meters. Because of this, they decide to make things fairer
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for the next race by making Man A stand 10 meters behind the line,thereby giving Man B a 10 meter head
start. Thay both run the second race at exactly the same speed as before. What is the result.
S o l . Man A again wins. We know from the first race thet man A runs 200 meters at the same time that man B runs
190 meters. Therefore, it follows that as Man A starts 10 meters behind the line, the men will be dead even at
10 meters short of the winning line. As man A is the faster runner, he goes on to overtake man B in the last 10
meters and win the race.
E x . 7 If a clock takes 7 seconds to strike 7, then in how much time will it strike 10 ?
S o l . In striking 7 there are 6 silent intervals encountered and similarly in striking 10 it will have 9 silent intervals.

7 9 1
Therefore, it will take 10 sec. to strike 10 (i.e. for 9 silent intervals).
6 2

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 Mental Ability

EXERCISE
1. At what time between 9 and 10 will the hands of a watch be together ?
(1) 45 minutes past 9 (2) 50 minutes past 9

1 2
(3) 49 minutes past 9 (4) 48 minutes past 9
11 11
2. Between 2 O´clock to 10 O´clock, how many timed the hands of a clock are at right angle?
(1) 14 (2) 12 (3) 16 (4) 15
3. Find the exact time between 7 am and 8 am when the two hands of a watch meet ?
(1) 7 hrs 35 min (2) 7 hrs 36.99 min (3) 7 hrs 38.18 min (4) 7 hrs 42.6 min
4. 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 —

7
(1) 4 p.m. (2) 59 minutes past 3
12

7 3
(3) 58 minutes past 3 (4) 2 minutes past 4
11 11
5. How many times in a day, the two hands of a clock coincide ?
(1) 11 (2) 12 (3) 22 (4) 24
6. When the time is 4.20, the angle between the hands of the clock is
(1) 20° (2) 15° (3) 12½ ° (4) 10°
7. At 12 O´clock, the minute hand is point East. At 4:30, in which direction will the hour hand point?
(1) North-West (2) South-East (3) South (4) South-West
8. If the two hands in a clock are 3 minutes divisions apart, then the angle between them is
(1) 3° (2) 18° (3) 24° (4) 60°
9. What will be the acute angle between hands of a clock at 2 : 30?
(1) 105° (2) 115° (3) 95° (4) 135°
10. A clock gains 15 minutes per day. It is set right at 12 noon. What time will it show at 4.00 am, the next
day?
(1) 4:10 am (2) 4:45 am (3) 4:20 am (4) 5:00 am
11. What is the angle between the 2 hands of the clock at 8:24 pm?
(1) 100° (2) 107° (3) 106° (4) 108°
12. If a clock strikes 12 in 33 seconds, it will strike 6 in how many seconds?

33
(1) (2) 15 (3) 12 (4) 22
2
13. An accurate clock shows 8 O´clock in the morning. Through how many degrees will the hour hand rotate
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when the clock shows 2 O´clock in the afternoon?

(1) 144° (2) 150° (3) 168° (4) 180°
14. When the time by the watch is 20 minutes past 7, the angle between the hands of the watch is ?
(1) 100° (2) 90° (3) 80° (4) 95°
15. A watch showed 5 past 5 o'clock on Wednesday evening when the correct time was 5:00 PM. It loses uniformly,
and was 5 min slow after two days at 7:00 PM. When did the watch show the correct time?
(1) Thursday 6:00 AM (2) Thursday 6:00 PM (3) Thursday 6:30 PM (4) Thursday 5:00 AM
16. The minute hand of a clock overtakes the hour hand at intervals of 65 min. How much in a day does the
clock gain or lose?

8 8 10 10
(1) Gains 56 min (2) Loses 32 min (3) Loses 9 min (4) Gains 10 min
77 11 143 143
17. What is the angle between the two hands of a clock at 8 hr 20 min?
(1) 110° (2) 120° (3) 130° (4) 140°

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Class X
18. A clock is set to show the correct time at 12:00 noon. Immediately, due to some mechanical defect, both
the minute hand and the hour hand started moving in the reverse direction (anticlockwise direction). What
is the correct time when this clock shows 8:25?
(1) 4:25 (2) 3:25 (3) 7:25 (4) 3:35
19. A clock runs 6 min slow per day. By what percentage is it running slow?

1 12 5
(1) 6% (2) % (3) % (4) %
10 5 12

20. At what time, between 7 and 8 o'clock, the hands of the clock overlap?

3 2 5
(1) 7:40 (2) 7 : 35 (3) 7 : 38 (4) 7 : 33
11 11 11

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ANSWERS
Qu e 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
.
Ans 3 1 3 1 3 4 4 2 1 1 4 2 4 1 2
.e
Qu 16 17 18 19 20
.
Ans 4 3 4 4 3
.
224
 Mental Ability

EXERCISE
QUESTIONS RELATED TO VARIOUS OLYMPIADS
1. At what time between 9 O'clock and 10 O'clock will the hands of a clock be in the straght line, but not
together ?

4
(1) 16 minutes past 9. (2) 16 minutes past 9
11

6 9
(3) 16 minutes past 9 (4) 16 minutes past 9
11 11

2. If the two incorrect watches are set at 12:00 noon at correct time, when will both the watches show the
correct time for the first time given that the first watch gains 1 min in 1 hour and second watch loses
4 min in 2 hours

(1) 6 pm, 25 days later (2) 12 noon, 30 days later

(3) 12 noon, 15 days later (4) 6 am 45 days later

3. A watch, which gains uniformly, is 3 minutes slow at noon on Monday and is 3 minutes 48 seconds fast at
2 p.m. on the following Monday. What time it was correct ?

(1) 2 p.m. On Tuesday (2) 2 p.m. On Wednesday

(3) 3 p.m. On Thursday (4) 1 p.m. On Friday

4. A monkey climbs 30 feet at the beginning of each hour and rests for a while when he slips back 20 feet
before the again starts climbing in the beginning of the next hour. If he begins his ascent at 8.00 a.m., at
what time will he first touch a flag at 120 feet from the ground ?

(1) 4 p.m. (2) 5 p.m. (3) 6 p.m. (4) None of these

5. Rajeev and Sanjeev are too close friends Rajeev's watch gains 1 minute in an hour and Sanjeev's watch loses
2 minutes in an hour. Once they set both the watches at 12:00 noon, with my correct watch. When will
the two incorrect watches of Rajeev and Sanjeev show the same time together ?

(1) 8 days later (2) 10 days later (3) 6 days later (4) can't be determined

6. At a railway station a 24 hour watch loses 3 minutes in 4 hours. If it is set correctly on Sunday noon when
will the watch show the correct time ?
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(1) 6 pm after 40 days

(2) 12 noon after 75 days

(3) 12 pm after 100 days

(4) 12 noon after 80 days

7. A wrist watch which is running 12 minutes late on a Sunday noon is 16 minutes ahead of the correct time
at 12 noon on the next Sunday. When is the clock 8 minutes ahead of time ?

(1) Thursday 10 am (2) Friday noon

(3) Friday 8 pm (4) Tuesday noon

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Class X
8. At the time half past three, the angle between hour and minute hands of the watch will be
(1) 75° (2) 60° (3) 90° (4) 105°
9. A clock is set to show the correct time at 11 a.m. The clock gains 12 minutes in 12 hours what will be
the true time when the watch indicates 1 p.m. on the 6th day ?
(1) 10 a.m. (2) 11 a.m. (3) 12 noon (4) None of these
10. I left home for bringing milk between 7 am and 8 am. The angle between the hour-hand and the minute-
hand was 90°, I returned home between 7 am and 8 am. Then also the angle between the minute-hand
was 90°. At what time (nearest to second) did I leave and return home ?
(1) 7h 18m 35s & 7h 51m 24s (2) 7h 19m 24s & 7h 52m 14s
(3) 7h 20m 42s & 7h 53m 11s (4) 7h 21m 49s & 7h 54m 33s

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ANSWERS
Q ue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0
. s
A n 2 2 3 3 2 4 2 1 2 4
.
226