[CV005] Clock Hands

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004 - Where's My House?

005 - Clock Hands

006 - Light Weight

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Clock Hands
Game	Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Number	005
Type	Write Answer
Location	Village Square
Solved by	Luke
Picarats	50
Mandatory	No
Reward	None
In other languages
Deutsch	Uhrzeiger
Español	Manecillas
Français	Contre-la-montre
Italiano	Le due lancette
한국의	시계바늘 경주

Clock Hands is a puzzle in the European version of Professor Layton and the Curious Village. For the puzzle in the American version of the game, go here.

Puzzle

An ordinary analogue clock has two hands, with the longer hand moving faster around the face of the clock.

Assuming that this clock keeps perfect time, how many times will the long and short hands pass over each other between 12 noon and 12 midnight?

Hints

• →
• Hint 1
• Hint 2
• Hint 3

Click a Tab to reveal the Hint.

The hands pass over each other once an hour. So in 12 hours they will pass 12 times...

Or will they?

The hands start off on top of each other at 12 noon, so that doesn't count as a pass.

One pass every hour.

But the hands don't pass over each other on the hour. They will pass around 5 minutes past 1, or 33 minutes past 6.

So what time will it be the last time they pass?

Solution

Incorrect

Try again!

It's easy if you try it for real, but think carefully about the question.

Correct

That's right!

The hands pass over each other 10 times. If you think about it the answer is obvious, but you might have been tricked by the question.

The hands pass over each other once an hour, but since they start and end directly on top of each other, two of the twelve hours do not count as a pass.

Why not try it on a real clock?