Difficult maths problem - requires some thought

  • Thread starter Thread starter david18
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
To determine when the hour and minute hands of a clock are pointing in opposite directions after 8 o'clock, one must calculate the angles of both hands relative to 12 o'clock. The angle of the minute hand, denoted as m, changes with time x minutes past the hour, while the hour hand's angle, h, also shifts as time progresses. The key equation to solve is h - m = 180 degrees. It is noted that the hands are opposite at 6 o'clock and occur 11 times in a 12-hour period. Solving the problem can be approached through angle equations or by understanding the rates at which the hands move.
david18
Messages
49
Reaction score
0
After the hour hand has passed 8 on your watch, when will the minute hand and the hour hand be pointing in exactly opposite directions?

I did initially try formulating equations based on the change in the angle of the hour hand after x minutes, but it doesn't seem to be taking me anywhere.

I don't even know where to start on this question, any pointers in what direction I should head would be appreciated.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
When the time is x minutes past the hour, what is the angle (in degrees) between the minute hand and 12 o'clock (measured clockwise)? Call this angle m. (Note that x need not be a whole number.)

When the time is 8 o'clock and x minutes, what is the angle (in degrees) between the hour hand and 12 o'clock (measured clockwise)? Call this angle h.

For what value of x do we have h-m=180?
 
The easy way is to notice the hour and minute hand are pointing in opposite directions at 6 o'clock, and every 12 hours there are exactly 11 times they are pointing in opposite directions. Now you can figure out the times. But you can also do it with rates. Post your attempt and someone will probably show you where you went wrong.
 
I picked up this problem from the Schaum's series book titled "College Mathematics" by Ayres/Schmidt. It is a solved problem in the book. But what surprised me was that the solution to this problem was given in one line without any explanation. I could, therefore, not understand how the given one-line solution was reached. The one-line solution in the book says: The equation is ##x \cos{\omega} +y \sin{\omega} - 5 = 0##, ##\omega## being the parameter. From my side, the only thing I could...
Essentially I just have this problem that I'm stuck on, on a sheet about complex numbers: Show that, for ##|r|<1,## $$1+r\cos(x)+r^2\cos(2x)+r^3\cos(3x)...=\frac{1-r\cos(x)}{1-2r\cos(x)+r^2}$$ My first thought was to express it as a geometric series, where the real part of the sum of the series would be the series you see above: $$1+re^{ix}+r^2e^{2ix}+r^3e^{3ix}...$$ The sum of this series is just: $$\frac{(re^{ix})^n-1}{re^{ix} - 1}$$ I'm having some trouble trying to figure out what to...

Similar threads

Back
Top