ACT Math : Clock Math

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ACT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Distance Between Clock Hands

A church commissioned a glassmaker to make a circular stained glass window that was two feet in diameter. What is the area of the stained glass window, to the nearest square foot?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To answer this question, we need to find the area of a circle.

To find the area of a circle, we will use the following equation:

, where  is the radius.

We are given the diameter of the circle, which is . To find the radius of a circle, we divide the diameter by two. So, for this data:

So, our radius is

We can now plug our radius into our equation for the area of a circle:

The answer asks us what the area is to the nearest square foot. Therefore, we must round our answer to the nearest whole number. To round, we will round up if the digit right before your desired place value is 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, and we will round down if it is 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4. Because we want the nearest square foot, we will look at the tenths place to aid in our rounding. Because there is a 1 in the tenths place, we will round down. So:

Therefore, our answer is .

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Angle Of Clock Hands

What is the measure of the larger angle formed by the hands of a clock at ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Like any circle, a clock contains a total of . Because the clock face is divided into  equal parts, we can find the number of degrees between each number by doing . At 5:00 the hour hand will be at 5 and the minute hand will be at 12. Using what we just figured out, we can see that there is an angle of  between the two hands. We are looking for the larger angle, however, so we must now do 

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Distance Between Clock Hands

Assuming the clock hands extend all the way to the edge of the clock, what is the distance between the clock hands of an analog clock with a radius of 6 inches if the time is 2:30? Reduce any fractions in your answer and leave your answer in terms of 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the distance between the clock hands, first find the angle between the clock hands and use that as your central angle to find the porportion of the circumference.
The angle between the hands is :

Example Question #2 : Circles

An watch with a face radius of  displays the current time as . Assuming each hand reaches to the edge of the clock face, what is the distance, in , of the minor arc between the hour and minute hand? Leave  in your answer. Assume a  display (not a military clock).

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To start, we must calculate the circumference along the clock face. Since we are required to leave  in our answer, this is as easy as following our equation for circumference:

Next, we must figure out the positions of the hands. At , the clock's minute hand would be exactly on the , and the hour hand would be  of the way between the  and the . Therefore, the total distance  in terms of hour markings is .

To find the distance between adjacent numbers, divide the circumference by :

, where  is the distance in inches between adjacent hours on the clock face.

Finally, multiply this distance by the number of hours between the hands.

 

.

Thus, the hands are   apart.

Example Question #5 : Circles

An military () clock with a face diameter of  displays the current time as . Assuming each hand reaches to the edge of the clock face, what is the distance, in feet, of the minor arc between the hour and minute hand? Leave  in your answer.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To start, we must calculate the circumference along the clock face. Since we are required to leave  in our answer, this is as easy as following our equation for circumference:

Next, we must figure out the positions of the hands. For this problem, the clock has 24 evenly spaced numbers instead of 12, so we must cut the distance between each number mark in half compared to a normal clock face.  At , the clock's minute hand would be exactly on the , and the hour hand would be  of the way between the  and the (remember, there are still only seconds in a minute even on a 24-hour clock. Therefore, the total distance  in terms of hour markings is .

To find the distance between adjacent numbers, divide the circumference by :

, where  is the distance in feet between adjacent hours on the clock face.

Finally, multiply this distance by the number of hours between the hands.

 

.

Thus, the hands are  feet apart.

Example Question #4 : How To Find The Distance Between Clock Hands

An outdoor clock with a face diameter of  displays the current time as . Assuming each hand reaches to the edge of the clock face, what is the distance, in feet, of the minor arc between the hour and minute hand? Leave  in your answer. Assume a  display (not a military clock).

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To start, we must calculate the circumference along the clock face. Since we are required to leave  in our answer, this is as easy as following our equation for circumference:

Next, we must figure out the positions of the hands. At , the clock's minute hand would be exactly on the , and the hour hand would be  of the way between the  and the . Therefore, the total distance  in terms of hour markings is .

To find the distance between adjacent numbers, divide the circumference by :

, where  is the distance in inches between adjacent hours on the clock face.

Finally, multiply this distance by the number of hours between the hands.

 

.

Thus, the hands are  feet apart.

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Distance Between Clock Hands

Find the distance between the hour and minute hand of a clock at 2:00 with a hand length of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the distance, first you need to find circumference. Thus,

Then, multiply the fraction of the clock they cover. Thus,

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Angle Of Clock Hands

It is 4 o’clock.  What is the measure of the angle formed between the hour hand and the minute hand?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

At four o’clock the minute hand is on the 12 and the hour hand is on the 4.  The angle formed is 4/12 of the total number of degrees in a circle, 360.

4/12 * 360 = 120 degrees

Example Question #1 : Clock Math

What is the measure of the smaller angle formed by the hands of an analog watch if the hour hand is on the 10 and the minute hand is on the 2?

Possible Answers:

120°

45°

56°

30°

90°

Correct answer:

120°

Explanation:

A analog clock is divided up into 12 sectors, based on the numbers 1–12. One sector represents 30 degrees (360/12 = 30). If the hour hand is directly on the 10, and the minute hand is on the 2, that means there are 4 sectors of 30 degrees between then, thus they are 120 degrees apart (30 * 4 = 120).

Example Question #3 : Clock Math

Using the 8 hour analog clock from question 1 (an analog clock with 8 evenly spaced numbers on its face, with 8 where 12 normally is), what is the angle between the hands at 1:30? (Note: calculate the smaller angle, the one going between the hour and minute hand in a clockwise direction.)

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Because it's an 8 hour clock, each section of the clock has an angle of 45 degrees due to the fact that .

When the clock reads 1:30 the hour hand is halfway in between the 1 and the 2, and the minute hand is on the 4 (at the bottom of the clock). Therefore, between the hour hand and the "2" on the clock there are  degrees and between the 2 and the 4 there are  degrees. Finally, 

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