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December 2009

Clock confusion

Clock

We all know that homemade presents are supposed to be the best, but the clock your Aunty Mabel made you is a little hard to get used to — the hour and minute hands are exactly the same! You can muddle through most of the time but sometimes, say 26 minutes past 2 or just after 12 minutes past 5, you can't tell which of the two times it is. In the 12-hour period between noon and midnight, how many moments are there when it is not possible to tell the time on this clock?

This puzzle was taken from Norman Do's regular Puzzle Corner column for the Gazette of the Australian Mathematical Society. Why not try your hand at the problems in the latest Puzzle Corner?



If you are stumped by last issue's puzzle, here is the solution.

For some challenging mathematical puzzles, see the NRICH puzzles from this month or last month.

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