Day Clock

Algebra Level 3

You have a day clock, which in addition to being a regular 12 hour clock with an hour hand and a minute hand, also has a day hand and markings at regular intervals to show what day of the week it is. If the day hand and the hour hand are superimposed on Sunday at noon, what time on Friday morning will the day hand and hour hand be superimposed?

Round your answer to the nearest minute, and express your answer without the colon. For example, if you think the answer is 6:45 am, type in 645.


The answer is 818.

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2 solutions

David Vreken
Feb 27, 2018

From Sunday noon to the next Sunday noon, the hour hand will pass the day hand 2 7 1 = 13 2 \cdot 7 - 1 = 13 times over a period of 24 7 = 168 24 \cdot 7 = 168 hours. Therefore, the day hand and the hour hand will be superimposed every 168 13 \frac{168}{13} hours, and if n n is the number of times that the hands are superimposed since Sunday noon, and h h is the number of hours since Sunday noon, then h = 168 13 n h = \frac{168}{13}n .

Friday is 5 5 days after Sunday, so Friday noon is 5 24 = 120 5 \cdot 24 = 120 hours after Sunday noon, and Friday morning would start 120 12 = 108 120 - 12 = 108 hours after Sunday noon. Therefore, the superimposed hands must occur between h = 108 h = 108 hours and h = 120 h = 120 hours, so 108 < 168 13 n < 120 108 < \frac{168}{13}n < 120 , which means 8 5 14 < n < 9 2 7 8\frac{5}{14} < n < 9\frac{2}{7} , and since n n is an integer, n = 9 n = 9 (which means Friday morning is the ninth time in the week that the hands are superimposed).

Since n = 9 n = 9 for the superimposed hands on Friday morning, the number of hours since Sunday noon is h = 168 13 n = 168 13 9 = 116 4 13 h = \frac{168}{13}n = \frac{168}{13} \cdot 9 = 116\frac{4}{13} . Since Friday starts at 108 108 hours after Sunday noon, the hands are superimposed 116 4 13 108 = 8 4 13 116\frac{4}{13} - 108 = 8\frac{4}{13} hours into Friday morning. And since 4 13 \frac{4}{13} of an hour is 4 13 60 18 \frac{4}{13} \cdot 60 \approx 18 minutes, the hands are superimposed at approximately 8:18 am on Friday morning, which would be entered as 818 \boxed{818} with the given instructions.

Hi there, David Vreken. Your solution is much more elegant than the approach I used this time. Though I must admit I came up with an equivalent approach on my own to determine when the minute and hour hands overlap on a regular clock in an attempt to give my nephew a learning experience with division. Anyway, thanks for sharing!

James Wilson - 4 months, 3 weeks ago

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Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

David Vreken - 4 months, 3 weeks ago
James Wilson
Jan 15, 2021

Let 1 unit be equal to π 6 \frac{\pi}{6} radians. I set up the equation (1 unit/hour)t = [(12 unit)/((24)(7) hour)]t+12k. This simplifies to t = 1 14 t + 12 k . t=\frac{1}{14}t+12k. I manipulated the equation to say 1 14 t = 12 13 k . \frac{1}{14}t=\frac{12}{13}k. Note that 1 14 t \frac{1}{14}t is the number of units the day hand moves in t t hours. We want this number of units to occur on a Friday, which is between 4.5 and 5.5 days from noon Sunday. Converting days the day hand moves to units gives 4.5 12 7 4.5\cdot\frac{12}{7} units and 5.5 12 7 5.5\cdot\frac{12}{7} units. So, we want 4.5 12 7 < 1 14 t < 5.5 12 7 . 4.5\cdot \frac{12}{7}<\frac{1}{14}t<5.5\cdot\frac{12}{7}. Since 1 14 t = 12 13 k , \frac{1}{14}t=\frac{12}{13}k, we can write 4.5 12 7 < 12 13 k < 5.5 12 7 8 5 14 < k < 9 3 7 . 4.5\cdot\frac{12}{7}<\frac{12}{13}k<5.5\cdot\frac{12}{7} \Leftrightarrow 8\frac{5}{14}<k<9\frac{3}{7}. The only integer k k inside this interval is k = 9. k=9. Solving the equation, t = 1 14 t + 12 k , t=\frac{1}{14}t+12k, with k = 9 k=9 results in t = 14 13 108 = 8 4 13 . t=\frac{14}{13}\cdot 108=8\frac{4}{13}. Convert 4 13 \frac{4}{13} to minutes by multiplying by 60 60 , and you will get the final answer 8:18.

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