Brainteaser - Clock
A key part of a consultancy interview is the case study. Below is an example of the kind of case study question you might be asked.
At 3.25 pm, what is the angle between the hands on a clock?
Answer
This question can be solved in four steps:
Step 1: Choose a point to anchor your angle calculations, say, 12 o’clock.
Step 2: Calculate the angle between the minute hand at 3:25 and 12 o’clock:
(25-0)/60*360˚ = 150˚
Step 3: Calculate the angle between the hour hand at 3:25 and 12 o’clock:
3/12*360+25/60* 1/12*360˚ = 102.5˚
Step 4: At 3.25pm, the angle between the hour hand and minute hand is the difference between step 2 and step 3:
150˚-102.5˚ = 47.5˚
Note: It is not uncommon for people forget to take account of step 3!
