Clock Formulas

Formula and Basic Concepts of Clock

On this page you will find some of the basic Clock Formulas that will help you to solve Clock Based Question Easily.

Clocks

Clocks Formulas & Properties

  • The dial of the clock is circular in shape and is divided into 60 equal minute spaces.
  •  60-minute spaces traces an angle of 3600. Therefore, one minute space traverses an angle of 60.
  • The hands of a clock are perpendicular when they are 15-minute space apart.
  • Hands of a clock are in straight line and are opposite to one another when they are 30 minutes space apart.
  • Hands of a clock are perpendicular to each other 22 times in 12 hours and 44 times in 24 hours.
  • Hands of the clock are opposite to each other for 11 times in 12 hours and 22 times in a day.
  • The minute hand gains 55 minutes over hour hand every hour.
Formulas for Clocks

A) Angle between hands of a clock

1. When minute hand is behind the hour hand, the angle between the two hands at M minutes past H o’clock.

       = 30 [H -(M/5)] + M/2 degree

       = 30H – (5.5 x M)

2. In the case where the minute hand is ahead of the hour hand, the angle between the two hands at M minutes past H ‘o clock will be calculated as

         = 30 (M/5-H ) -M/2  degree

         = 5.5 x M – 30H

           B) To calculate x minute space gain by the minute hand over the hour hand,

= x\frac{60}{55}

= x\frac{12}{11}

C) Both the two hands of the clock will be at the right angles between H and (H+1) o’clock at (5H ± 15)  minutes H<’o clock.

D) If the minute hand of a clock overtakes the hour hand at the interval of M minutes when the time is correct, the clock gains or loses a day by

 =\frac{720}{11} – M [(60×24)/M] minutes

E) Between H and H+1 o’clock, the two hands of the clock are M minutes apart at (5H ± M)12/11  minutes past H o’ clock.

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Sample Clock Questions With Solution

Question 1: What is the angle between the hands at 6: 30?

Solution:

Angle = |(30 x Hour – 5.5 x Minutes)|

where Hour is the hour hand position and Minutes is the minute hand position.

At 6:30:
Hour = 6
Minutes = 30

Angle = |(30 x 6 – 5.5 x 30)| = |(180 – 165)| = |15| = 15 degrees

So, the angle between the hour and minute hands at 6:30 is 15 degrees.

 

Question 2: What is the angle between the hands at 2: 45?

Solution:

Angle = |(30 x Hour – 5.5 x Minutes)|

Where:
Hour = 2 (the given hour)
Minutes = 45 (the given minutes)

Let’s calculate the angle:

Angle = |(30 x 2 – 5.5 x 45)| = |(60 – 247.5)| = |(-187.5)| = 187.5 degrees

So, the angle between the hour and minute hands at 2:45 is 187.5 degrees.

 

Question 3: If the minute hand of a clock is at 3 and the hour hand is at 2, what is the angle between the hands?

Solution:

To find the angle between the hands, use the formula: Angle = |(30 x Hour – 5.5 x Minutes)|

Angle = |(30 x 2 – 5.5 x 3)| = |(60 – 16.5)| = 43.5 degrees

So, the angle between the hour and minute hands is 43.5 degrees.

Question 4: At what time between 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock will the hour and minute hands be exactly 120 degrees apart?

Solution:

For hour and minute hands 120 degrees apart, we can use the formula:

Angle = |(30 x Hour – 5.5 x Minutes)|

Let’s check all the times between 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock and check the angle:

4:00 = Angle = |(30 x 4 – 5.5 x 0)| = |(120 – 0)| = 120 degrees (Exactly 120 degrees)

Therefore, the hour and minute hands will be exactly 120 degrees apart at 4:00.

 

Question 5: How many times do the hour and minute hands of a clock overlap in a 24-hour period?

Solution:

The hour hand overlaps the minute hand 11 times in every 12-hour cycle.

In a 24-hour period, there are two 12-hour cycles.

So, the total number of overlaps in 24 hours = 11 + 11 = 22 times.

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