A boy leaves home in the morning to go to school. At the moment he leaves the house he looks at the clock in the mirror. The clock has no number indication and for this reason the boy makes a mistake in interpreting the time (mirror-image). Just assuming the clock must be out of order, the boy cycles to school, where he arrives after twenty minutes. At that moment the clock at school shows a time that is two and a half hours later than the time that the boy saw on the clock at home.
At what time did he reach school?
The boy arrived at school exactly 2hr. 30 min(actual time). after viewing the mirror image time at his residence.
Also, time taken in cycling to school = 20 minutes (given)
Therefore the difference between the mirror image time and actual time
= 2 hr. 30 min. -20 min. = 2 hr. 10 min.
The two instances in which the mirror image time and the actual time are the same are 12:00 and 6:00
EITHER::
Mirror image time = 12:00 -(2 hr 30 min.)/2 = 12:00- ( 1 hr. 5 min.)= 10:55, and:
Actual time = 12:00 + 1hr. 05 min. = 1:05
OR:
Mirror image time = 6:00-1:05 =4:55, and:
Actual time = 6:00+1:05= 7:05
However, it is given that the boy left for school in the morning.
Thus, he must have seen the mirror image at 7:05 (actual time) in the morning.
Adding 20 min. for cycling, the boy reached school precisely at 7:25 am in the morning.
Edited on December 25, 2021, 3:04 pm
Puzzle Solution
