Quantitative Aptitude · Reasoning

Time and Clocks

562 Questions

Time and clocks problems evaluate quantitative aptitude by testing concepts on clock gains, losses, and relative speeds of hands. Questions also cover global time zones and standard time calculations. These logical reasoning topics frequently appear in SSC and banking exams.

Clock gain or lossTime zonesAngle between handsStandard time calculationPrecise time measurement

Time and Clocks Questions

Multiple choice

The difference between IST and GMT is

  1. 2 hours

  2. 4 hours 30 minutes

  3. 5 hours 30 minutes

  4. 6 hours
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

IST (Indian Standard Time) is UTC+5:30, while GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) is UTC+0. The time difference is therefore 5 hours and 30 minutes, with IST being ahead of GMT. Options A (2 hours) and D (6 hours) are incorrect, while B (4h 30m) might confuse with other time zones like Bangladesh Time.

Multiple choice

What is the angle between the two hands of a clock when time is 8:30

  1. 75(approx)

  2. 70(approx)

  3. 65(approx)

  4. 50(approx)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

At 8:30, the hour hand is halfway between 8 and 9 (at 255 degrees from 12), and the minute hand is at 6 (180 degrees from 12). The angle between them is 255-180=75 degrees. This is because the hour hand moves 30 degrees per hour plus 0.5 degrees per minute.

Multiple choice

The revolution time of moon in days is _____.

  1. 27.5

  2. 28.5

  3. 29.5

  4. 30.2
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

29.5   The Moon spins once on its axis in about 27.3 days. This is the time between risings of some particular star above the lunar horizon from one place on the moon (any star, any place). That same place on the moon will experience sunrise once every 29.5 days (roughly), though this period is less constant, due to the Earth/Moon system's elliptical path around the Sun and other factors.

Multiple choice

What is the time adjustment from eastern to western coast of USA?

  1. 1

  2. 2

  3. 3

  4. No time adjustment
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

3   A decision was made to adjust the Eastern Time Zone boundary to include The Williams County decision, like all time zone decisions in the USA was. These exchanges then close at 4:00 PM EAST which is 1 : 00 PM on the west coast.

Multiple choice

USA is divided into

  1. 2 time zones

  2. 3 time zones

  3. 5 time zones

  4. 4 time zones
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The continental USA spans four standard time zones from Eastern to Pacific (Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific). This reflects the country's vast east-west geographic width.

Multiple choice

Which of the following would be the longitudinal distance when there is a difference of one hour in standard time between places?

  1. 60o

  2. 30o

  3. 24o

  4. 15o
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Earth completes one full 360° rotation in 24 hours, creating a time difference of 1 hour for every 15° of longitude (360° ÷ 24 hours = 15° per hour). This is why time zones are roughly based on 15° longitudinal bands. Option D correctly states this relationship.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question. How does an Indian accept blank hours?

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Our awareness of time has reached such a pitch of intensity that we suffer acutely whenever our travels take us in to some corner of the world where people are not interested in minute and seconds. The unpunctuality of the Orient, for example, is appalling to those who come freshly from a land of fixed meal-time and regular train service. For a modern American Englishman waiting is a psychological torture. An Indian accept the blank hours with resignation even with satisfaction. He has not lost the fine part of doing  nothing. Our notion of time as a collection of minutes, each of which must be filled with some business or amusement, wholly alien to the Oriental, just as it was wholly alien to the Greek. For the man who lives in a pre-industrial world, time moves at a slow and easy pace ; he does not care about each minute, for the good reason that he has not been made conscious of the existence of minutes.

  1. Happily

  2. With ease

  3. Unhappily

  4. Uneasily
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

As per the passage 'An Indian accept the blank hours with resignation even with satisfaction'. This suggests that an Indian does not create any fuss or trouble and just waits without any problem.

Multiple choice

Indian Standard Time is ahead of Greenwich Mean Time by

  1. 4½ hours

  2. 3 hours

  3. 5½ hours

  4. 10 hours
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5½ hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). India uses a single time zone for the entire country, based on the longitude passing through Allahabad (82.5°E), which corresponds to UTC+5:30.

Multiple choice

GMT means

  1. General Meridian Time

  2. Greenwich Mean Time

  3. Global Mean Time

  4. Greenwich Minimum Time
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time, named after the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It's the reference time zone from which all others are calculated.

Multiple choice

What is the Indian Standard Time?

  1. 82030'E

  2. 30082'E

  3. 85030'E

  4. 80035'E
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Indian Standard Time is calculated from 82°30' E longitude, which passes through Allahabad (Prayagraj). This meridian was chosen as it's roughly the longitudinal center of India. The time offset is UTC+5:30 from Greenwich Mean Time.

Multiple choice

The world is divided into

  1. 12 time zones

  2. 20 time zones

  3. 24 time zones

  4. 36 time zones
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The world is divided into 24 time zones, each approximately 15 degrees of longitude wide, centered on the Prime Meridian (0°). This system was established in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference. Each zone represents one hour difference from adjacent zones, simplifying timekeeping across the globe.