State the measure (in degrees) of the angle formed between the minute hand and the hour hand of a clock when the time is 12:30 p.m.

Question

State the measure (in degrees) of the angle formed between the minute hand and the hour hand of a clock when the time is each of the following.

(a) 12:30 p.m.

Answer 1

It's going to be 165 degrees. This is because at 12:30 the hour hand is half way between the 12 and the 1 and the minute hand is pointing straight down at the 6.

The number of degrees between each number is 30 degrees (360 all the way around divided by the 12 spaces equals 30 degrees. If the hour hand was at the 12 it would clearly be exactly 180 degrees but since the hour hand is half way to the 1 we need to subtract 15 degrees (half of the 30 degrees from the 12 to the 1).

Hope this helps!