A certain clock marks every hour by striking a number of times equal to the hour, and the time require for a stroke is exactly equal to the time interval between strokes. At 6:00 the time lapse between the beginning of the first stoke and the end of the last stroke is 22 seconds. At 7:00, how many seconds elapse between the beginning of the first stroke and the end of the last stroke? Options:
A) 26  B) 29  C) 19  D) 30  E) 40

Rationale: "at 6 ' o clock , there would be 6 strikes . first strike , then a short interval , the second strike , then a short interval and so on till the 6 th strike . so there would be in all 5 intervals between 6 strikes . similarly , between 7 strikes , there would be 6 intervals . according to the question , the time spent in the strike and the interval is same . at 6 ' o clock , the 6 strikes and the 5 intervals together take 22 sec so each strike and each interval takes 2 secs . at 7 ' o clock , the 7 strikes and 6 intervals will take 2 * ( 7 + 6 ) = 26 secs a"
Answer: A