1.
Basic Clock Angle Problem
At exactly 4:00 PM, what is the angle between the hour hand and the minute hand?
Answer:
The hour hand is at 4×30∘=120∘4 \times 30^\circ = 120^\circ4×30∘=120∘.
The minute hand is at 0∘0^\circ0∘.
Angle = 120°
2. Intermediate Clock Angle Problem
At 5:20 PM, what is the smaller angle between the hour hand and the minute hand?
Solution:
Minute hand: 20×6=120∘20 \times 6 = 120^\circ20×6=120∘
Hour hand: (5×30)+(20×0.5)=150+10=160∘(5 \times 30) + (20 \times 0.5) = 150 + 10 =
160^\circ(5×30)+(20×0.5)=150+10=160∘
Difference: 160−120=40∘160 - 120 = 40^\circ160−120=40∘
Answer: 40°
3. Challenging Clock Problem
At what time between 2:00 and 3:00 will the hour and minute hands overlap?
Solution:
Let xxx be the minutes after 2:00.
Minute hand angle:
6x6x6x
Hour hand angle:
60+0.5x60 + 0.5x60+0.5x
Set them equal:
6x=60+0.5x6x = 60 + 0.5x6x=60+0.5x 5.5x=605.5x = 605.5x=60 x=12011=101011 minutesx = \
frac{120}{11} = 10\frac{10}{11}\text{ minutes}x=11120=101110 minutes
Answer: 2:10 1011\frac{10}{11}1110 (approximately 2:10:54.5)
4. Word Problem
A clock shows 3:15 PM. How many degrees does the minute hand move in the next 25
minutes?
Solution:
The minute hand moves 6° per minute.
25×6=150∘25 \times 6 = 150^\circ25×6=150∘
Answer: 150°
5. Olympiad-Style Clock Problem
The angle between the hour hand and minute hand is 90° at exactly 3:00 PM. How many
minutes after 3:00 PM will they again form a 90° angle?
Solution:
Let xxx be the minutes after 3:00.
Hour hand:
90+0.5x90 + 0.5x90+0.5x
Minute hand:
6x6x6x
Since they again form a right angle,
6x−(90+0.5x)=906x - (90 + 0.5x) = 906x−(90+0.5x)=90 5.5x=1805.5x = 1805.5x=180
x=36011=32811x = \frac{360}{11} = 32\frac{8}{11}x=11360=32118
Answer: 3:32 811\frac{8}{11}118 (approximately 3:32:43.6)
Bonus (Board Exam Style)
A clock gains 2 minutes every hour. If it is correctly set at 8:00 AM, what time will the clock
show when the actual time is 2:00 PM?
Solution:
Actual elapsed time = 6 hours
Clock gains = 6×2=126 \times 2 = 126×2=12 minutes
Clock reading = 2:12 PM
Answer: 2:12 PM
6. Clock Angle Problem
At 7:40 PM, what is the smaller angle between the hour hand and the minute hand?
Solution:
Minute hand: 40×6=240∘40 \times 6 = 240^\circ40×6=240∘
Hour hand: (7×30)+(40×0.5)=210+20=230∘(7 \times 30) + (40 \times 0.5) = 210 + 20 =
Difference: ∣240−230∣=10∘|240 - 230| = 10^\circ∣240−230∣=10∘
230^\circ(7×30)+(40×0.5)=210+20=230∘
Answer: 10°
7. Time from Clock Angle
At what time between 9:00 and 10:00 will the hour and minute hands be exactly 180° apart?
Solution:
Let xxx be the minutes after 9:00.
Hour hand:
270+0.5x270 + 0.5x270+0.5x
Minute hand:
6x6x6x
Since they are opposite each other,
6x−(270+0.5x)=1806x - (270 + 0.5x) = 1806x−(270+0.5x)=180 5.5x=4505.5x = 4505.5x=450
x=90011=81911x = \frac{900}{11} = 81\frac{9}{11}x=11900=81119
Since this exceeds 60 minutes, use the other direction:
270+0.5x−6x=180270 + 0.5x - 6x = 180270+0.5x−6x=180 90=5.5x90 = 5.5x90=5.5x
x=18011=16411x = \frac{180}{11}=16\frac{4}{11}x=11180=16114
Answer: 9:16 411\frac{4}{11}114 (approximately 9:16:21.8)
8. Clock Gain/Loss Problem
A clock loses 5 minutes every 4 hours. If it is correctly set at 6:00 AM on Monday, what time
will the clock show when the actual time is 2:00 AM on Tuesday?
Solution:
Actual elapsed time = 20 hours
Loss:
204×5=25 minutes\frac{20}{4}\times5=25\text{ minutes}420×5=25 minutes
Clock shows:
2:00 AM−25 minutes=1:35 AM2:00\text{ AM}-25\text{ minutes}=1:35\
text{ AM}2:00 AM−25 minutes=1:35 AM
Answer: 1:35 AM
9. Minute Hand Movement
Starting from 10:25 AM, how many degrees will the minute hand rotate by 11:05 AM?
Solution:
Elapsed time:
10:25 to 11:00 = 35 minutes
11:00 to 11:05 = 5 minutes
Total = 40 minutes
Minute hand movement:
40×6=240∘40\times6=240^\circ40×6=240∘
Answer: 240°
10. Right Angle Problem
How many times do the hands of a clock form a right angle (90°) in a 12-hour period?
Solution:
The hour and minute hands form a right angle 22 times in every 12 hours.
Answer: 22 times