At what time between 4 and 5 o’clock will the hands of a watch point in opposite directions?
🕰️ Clock Hand Alignment 🤔
Let’s re-analyze the situation:
At 4:00, the hour hand is at 120° (4 × 30°) and the minute hand is at 0°.
For the hands to point in opposite directions, they need to form a 180° angle.
Since the hour hand moves 0.5° per minute and the minute hand moves 6° per minute, the relative speed between them is:
6°/minute – 0.5°/minute = 5.5°/minute
To form a 180° angle, the minute hand needs to move:
180° / 5.5°/minute ≈ 32.73 minutes
However, this calculation assumes the hour hand doesn’t move. Since the hour hand moves 0.5° per minute, we need to adjust the calculation:
32.73 minutes × 0.5°/minute ≈ 16.365°
Adding this to the initial hour hand position:
120° + 16.365° ≈ 136.365°
Now, we need to find the time when the minute hand is at:
136.365° + 180° = 316.365°
Since the minute hand moves 6° per minute:
316.365° / 6°/minute ≈ 52.727 minutes
However, this is more than 60 minutes. We need to find the correct time within the 4-5 o’clock range:
52.727 minutes – 60 minutes = -7.273 minutes (in the 4 o’clock hour)
Since the minute hand moves 6° per minute:
-7.273 minutes × 6°/minute ≈ -43.638°
Subtracting this from the initial hour hand position:
120° – 43.638° ≈ 76.362°
Now, we need to find the time when the minute hand is at:
76.362° + 180° = 256.362°
Since the minute hand moves 6° per minute:
256.362° / 6°/minute ≈ 42.727 minutes
Rounding to the nearest minute:
x ≈ 42.7 minutes
Adding this to 4 o’clock:
🎉 The hands of the watch will point in opposite directions at approximately 4:42.7. 🕰️