PEA–Lecture#

CLOCKS
 CONCEPT BASE
DIAL:
The face or dial of a clock is a circle whose
circumference is divided into 60 equal parts,
called minute spaces.
They are marked by short lines in the face of
the clock. However, the end of every fifth
minute space is marked longer than the others
and the 60 minute spaces are represented as 12
divisions or 12 hour spaces.
They are usually numbered from 1 to 12 as
shown in the figure below.
HANDS OF THE CLOCK:
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 as shown in the figure above.
The hands of the clock are the indicators of
time.
The time is read based on the positions of the
hands with respect to minute or hour spaces.
UNIT OF TIME:
The unit of time in clocks is seconds.
A second, the SI unit of time, is defined as the natural
periodicity of the radiation of a caesium-133 atom.
A duration of 60 seconds is defined as a minute.
In clocks, it is also defined as the time taken by the
minute hand to move across a minute space.
A duration of 60 minutes is defined as an hour.
In clocks, it is also defined as the time taken by the
hour hand or short hand to move across five minute
spaces or one hour space.
A day is also defined as the duration of 24 hours
 Hour & minute hand
Min. hand Hour Hand

12h -------- 3600

60 min ------- 3600 1h ---------- 3600/12 = 300
1 min ---------3600/60
60 min ------- 300
= 60 1 min ---------300/60
= 0.50
So, 1 min ------ 60
So, 1 min ------ 0.50
Relation Between Hour & min. hand
Min. hand Hour Hand

1 min ------ 60 1 min ------ 0.50

So in 1 min relative difference between

hour and minute hand is 5.50 (11/2) 0
Relation Between Hr & Min hand (in terms
of minutes)

55 mins are gained by the minute hand over the hour

hand in 60 mins.
So, 1 min will be gained in 60/55 mins.

The above relation is very helpful to determine time

when the hands of clock are
co-incident/straight/perpendicular.
 The time is measured owing to the movement
of the hands of a clock. A complete rotation of
any of the hands would cover a measure of
360 degrees (circular displacement) .
 Degree is the unit of measurement of angles
and is denoted by the symbol °.
 Hour hand covers an angle of 360° in 12
hours. So, the hour hand in one hour will
cover 360 /12 = 30°.
 So for every minute, the hour hand moves
through 30 /60 = 0.5 °.
 Minute hand covers an angle of 360° in 1
hour. So for every minute, the minute hand
moves through 360/60 = 6 °.
 Both the hands of the clock move in same
direction.
 So, their relative displacement for every
minute is 5.5° or 11/2°.
 This 5.5° movement constitutes the
movements of both the hands.
 So for every minute, both the hands give a
relative displacement of 5.5°.
FORMULA TO FIND THE ANGLE BETWEEN THE
HANDS OF THE CLOCK:
𝜃=30°𝐻− 11/2𝑀

𝜃=11/2𝑀− 30°𝐻
(when the minute hand is trailing the hour hand)

𝜃 = Angle between the hands of the clock

(when the minute hand is leading the hour hand)

30°𝐻 = Initial gap; H - the division pointed by the hour hand

which indicates the gap between the minute hand and hour hand

11/2𝑀 = Relative displacement for a period of time; 11/2 -

initially when multiplied by 30°.

Relative speed of the hands of the clock; M - no. of minute

spaces moved by the minute hand.
COINCIDENCE OF THE HANDS OF THE CLOCK:
At 12 o' clock, the hands of the clock overlap
i.e. the angle formed between them is 0°.
To find the next time they overlap, the gap
between them should be 360° so that they are
at the same point. Hence it takes,
11/2 × t = 360
t = 720/11 = 65 5/11 minutes
Thus, it can be easily concluded that the hands
of the clock coincide every 65 5/11 minutes.
FREQUENCY OF FORMATION OF ANGLES BETWEEN
THE HANDS OF THE CLOCK:
With the relative displacement, it is easier to find
the frequency at which the hands of a clock form a
particular angle.
Let's find the no. of times the hands of the clock
form 0° in a day.
We know that the hands of the clock coincide every
65 5/11 or 720/11 minutes. So, in a day there are 24
× 60 = 1440 minutes
Therefore, in a day the hands of the clock coincide
(1440 × 11) / 720 = 22 times.
 Thus, it can be inferred that the hands of the
clock coincide once in every hour except for
two occasions i.e. from 11 to 1 o' clock they
coincide only once at 12 o' clock.
 So, it is 11 times in 12 hours and thus 22 times
in 24 hours.
 The finding can be extended to other angles

𝜃= 30°𝐻− 11/2𝑀 or
by applying the formula,

𝜃= 11/2𝑀− 30°𝐻
for every hour in the clock.
GAIN AND LOSS OF TIME IN AN INCORRECT CLOCK:
A normal clock becomes incorrect when there is a change in the
speeds of the hands of the clock.
 As seen already, duration of a day is measured by the time
taken by the hour hand to move across the 12 divisions twice.
So, when the speed of the hands of the clock increases they
complete their rotation for a day sooner.
Thus, they result in loss of time when actually compared with
the duration for a day in a correct clock .
Similarly, when the hands of the clock move slower than usual,
they take more time to complete the rotations for a day.
Thus, they result in gaining more time for a day when compared
with that in a correct clock.
KEY POINTS:
1. In 60 minutes, the minute hand gains 55
minutes on the hour hand
2. The hands of the clock coincide every 65 5/11
minutes and for every hour, both the hands
coincide once
3. The hands are in the same straight line when
they are coincident or opposite to each other
4. When the two hands are at right angles, they
are 15 minute spaces apart
5. When the hands are in opposite directions,
they are 30 minute spaces apart
6. The hands of the clock form an angle of 0° or
180° − 22 times a day
7. The hands of the clock form an angle of 1° to
179° − 44 times a day
8. If a watch or a clock indicates 8:15, when the
correct time is 8, it is said to be 15 minutes faster
than the correct time. On the other hand, if it
indicates 7:45, when the correct time is 8, it is
said to be 15 minutes slow.
 Time Based questions
1) If both hands are coincident then angle between
the hands is 0. (Co-incide/together/straight and
together/ 0 degree / 0 mins apart)

2) If both hands are opposite to each other, then angle

is 180. (Opposite/straight and opposite/ 30 mins
apart)

3) If both hands are perpendicular then angle is 90.

(Right angle/ 90 deg/ 15 mins spaces apart)
Both hands Required Angle No of times it No of times it
happens in 12 happens in 24
hours hours( 1 day)
Are coincident 0 degree 11 22

Are opposite 180 degree 11 22

Are at right angle 90 degree 22 44

Are in straight 0 degree or 180 22 44

line degree
 Reflection of time in mirror

To find the mirror image of given time, subtract the given time
from 11:60 to get the reflected time.

Eg:
If the time in a clock is 1:40 , then what is the reflected time?
Ans: Reflected time= 11:60 – 1:40 = 10:20
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. Find the angle between the hands of a clock
when the time is 5:40.
(a)80⁰
(b)160⁰
(c)70⁰
(d)120⁰

Ans: C
2. Find the angle between the minute hand and
the hour hand of a clock when the time is 7:20.
(a) 80⁰
(b) 90⁰
(c) 100⁰
(d) 110⁰

Ans: C
3. The reflex angle between the hands of a clock
at 10:25 is
(a)180⁰
(b)162.5⁰
(c) 165⁰
(d) 197.5⁰

Ans: D
4. Find the angle between the hour hand and
the minute hand of a clock when the time is
15:25.
(a)47.5 ⁰
(b)45.5 ⁰
(c)50 ⁰
(d)None of these

Ans: A
5. At what time between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., do
the hands of a clock coincide?
(a) 5 hour 29 3/11 min
(b) 5 hour 33 8/11 min
(c) 5 hour 27 3/11 min
(d) None of these

Ans: c
6. Find at what time (in minutes) past 8 o' clock
but before 9 o' clock will the hands of a clock be
in the same straight line but not together.
(a)100/11
(b) 110/11
(c) 120/11
(d) None of these

Ans: C
7. How many times in a day do the hands of a
clock form 90⁰?
(a)22
(b) 33
(c) 44
(d) 55

Ans: C
8. A few times per day, the minute hand of a
clock is exactly above (or below) the hour hand.
How many times per day does this occur?
(a)11 times
(b) 24 times
(c) 22 times
(d) 44 times

Ans: C
9. At how many times between 12 o'clock and 1
o' clock are the minute hand and the hour hand
of a clock at an angle of 90 degrees to each
other?
(a)4
(b) 6
(c) 3
(d) 2

Ans: D
10. How much does a watch gains or loses per
day, if its hands coincide every 64 minutes?
(a)32 8/11 min
(b) 36 5/11 min
(c) 90 min
(d) 96 min

Ans: A
11. My watch was 8 minutes behind at 8 p.m. on
Sunday but it was 7 minutes ahead of time at 8
p.m. on Wednesday. During this period, at which
time has this watch shown the correct time?
(a)Tuesday 10.24 a.m.
(b) Wednesday 9.16 p.m.
(c) Tuesday 10.24 p.m.
(d) Wednesday 9.16 a.m.

Ans: A
12. The minute hand of a clock overtakes the
hour hand at intervals of 65 minutes of the
correct time. How much a day does the clock
gain or lose in minutes?
(a)1440/143
(b) 1444/143
(c) 1400/143
(d) 4440/143

Ans: A
13. A clock is set right at 8 a.m. The clock gains
10 minutes in 24 hours. What will be the true
time when the clock indicates 1 p.m. on the
following day?
(a)48 min past 12
(b) 48 min past 11
(c) 45 min past 12
(d) 45 min past 11

Ans: A
14. At what time between 4 and 5 o'clock, will
the hands of a watch point in opposite
directions?
(a) 54 min past 4
(b) 53 7/11 min past 4
(c) 54 7/11 min past 4
(d) 54 6/11 min past 4

Ans: D
15. 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)3:59:35 p.m.
(b) 6 p.m.
(c) 5 p.m.
(d) 7 p.m.

Ans: A
16. At what time between 5.30 and 6 o' clock,
will the hands of a clock be at right angles?
(a)43 5/11 min past 5
(b) 43 7/11 min past 5
(c) 5 p.m.
(d) 7 p.m.

Ans: B
17. Find the reflex angle between the hour hand
and the minute hand of a clock when the time is
11:25.
(a)192.5 ⁰
(b) 230 ⁰
(c) 45 ⁰
(d) 72 ⁰

Ans: A
Next Class: S.I. & C.I.