Published
Five clocks, one rule. Read the hands carefully (the short black hand is the hour, the long red hand is the minutes) and figure out where the last clock’s hands should point.
The puzzle
- The first four clocks show a pattern that moves forward the same way at every step.
- The fifth clock has been left blank.
What time should the fifth clock show?
Show hint
Read each clock as a time, then look at the minute hand on its own. How far does it move from one clock to the next? Does the hour hand keep up?
Show answer
Answer: 8:00.
- Read the clocks: 3:00, 4:15, 5:30, 6:45.
- The minute hand moves a quarter turn each time (0, 15, 30, 45 minutes), and the hour climbs by one (3, 4, 5, 6).
- So every step adds 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- 6:45 + 1:15 = 8:00. One hour after 6:45 is 7:45, and 15 more minutes brings the minute hand back to 12 at 8:00.
The trap is answering 7:00: the hour number rises by one at each step, so it’s tempting to go from 6 to 7. But the extra 15 minutes after 6:45 tips the clock past the hour, landing on 8:00.