Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

Conversion Of Time Explained With Formulas And Methods

Reviewed by:
ffImage
hightlight icon
highlight icon
highlight icon
share icon
copy icon

How To Convert Time Units With Formula And Solved Examples

Time is how we measure the duration of an activity, a task, or maybe a season. The tool used for ages for this purpose is a clock that has two main hands, i.e., the minute hand and hour hand. The minute hand goes round the clock every 60 minutes to complete an hour.

Time can be measured in some units, including seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. 1 hour =60 minutes. It needs 12 hours to complete one full circle of the clock. A day has a total of 24 hours, and the hour hand goes round the clock twice. 1 day =24 hours. And 7 such days form a week. A year has a total of 12 months.

Here, the conversion of time is explained in detail. The most important and tricky question of how many seconds in a year is also cleared below in the article.


Leap Year

  • Leap years are those years in which the entire year has 366 days. Earth requires one year to make one revolution around the sun.

  • But the exact time taken for that revolution is $365 \frac{1}{4}$ days or 365 days and 6 hours. These six hours don't get counted every year and are added every fourth year.

  • That is why every fourth year has an extra day adding up those 6 years making it a total of 366 days.

  • The extra day is added to the month of February and makes it 29 days.

Conversion Table/ Time Unit Conversion Chart

Time can be grouped into various units. The unit conversion chart table is given below as follows:

1 minute

60 seconds

1 hour

60 minutes

1 day

24 hours

1 week

7 days

1 year (days)

365 days

1 year (months)

12 months

1 year (weeks)

52 weeks

How Many Seconds in a Year?

How many seconds are in a year? The answer is cleared below with the help of the conversion table given above. 31,536,000 seconds are present within a year which is a total of 365 days.

Time Conversion Chart

Time conversion chart can be used to understand the time very minutely and accurately.

Time Conversion Chart.


Time Conversion Chart.


Conversion of Days into Hours

So let's take an example of 7 days and let us see how many hours are packed into 7 days. The conversion rule is that 1 day is equal to 24 hours.

Therefore, let us multiply 7 by 24

$7 \times 24 = 168$ hours

Now if we had to convert days and hours into hours altogether.

We have to convert the days into hours and add the remaining hours to the converted value.

For example, convert 7 days 5 hours to hours.

We begin with converting the days which are 7 into hours, i.e. $7 \times 24 = 168$ hours

Now, add the remaining hours, i.e. $168 + 5 = 173$ hours.


Conversion of Hours into Minutes

We know that 1 hour $=60$ minutes

So if we had to calculate how many minutes make hours,

We multiply hours by 60

hours $=5 \times 60 = 300$ minutes

Now, let us convert hours and minutes into minutes

Let's take the example of 8 hours and 30 minutes

8 hours 30 minutes

$=(8 \times 60)+30 \text { minutes } = 480 + 30 \text { minutes } = 510 \text { minutes }$


Conversion of Minutes into Seconds

We know that, 1 minute $=60$ seconds

So if we had to calculate how many seconds make 20 minutes,

We multiply 20 with 60,

$20 \times 60$ seconds $=1200$ seconds

Now, let us convert minutes and seconds into seconds for 40 minutes and 100 seconds

We convert 40 minutes into seconds,

$=40 \times 60$ seconds $=2400$ seconds

Now add the 100 seconds,

$=2400+100 \text { seconds }=2500 \text { seconds }$

Cloth with Hour, Minute and Second Hand.


Cloth with Hour, Minute and Second Hand.


Below are some of the examples and some practice problems on the conversion of time.


Solved Examples

Q1. Convert 30 minutes into seconds.

Ans: We know that 1 minute = 60 seconds,

So if we had to calculate how many seconds make 30 minutes,

We multiplied 30 by 60,

Therefore, the total number of seconds in 30 minutes is 1800 seconds.


Q2. Convert 3 days 12 hours into hours.

Ans: The conversion rule is that 1 day equals 24 hours. Therefore, we need to multiply 3 with 24 and add 12 to that value.

3 x 24 = 72 hours.

To obtain total hours in 3 days and 12 hours, 72 + 12 = 84 hours.


Q3. Convert 9 hours and 10 minutes into minutes.

Ans: The rule for the conversion of hours into minutes is that each hour has a total of 60 minutes.

Therefore, we multiply 9 by 60, and after that, add 10 minutes.

9 x 60 minutes = 540 minutes

540 + 10 minutes = 550 minutes.


Practice Questions

Q 1. Convert 16 minutes into seconds.

Ans: 960 seconds


Q 2. Convert 5 days 6 hours into hours.

Ans: 126 hours


Q 3. Convert 2 hours 25 minutes into minutes.

Ans: 145 minutes


Summary

Time is the unit by which we define the length of a work, an activity, or a season. Since ancient times, a clock with two primary hands—the minute hand and the hour hand—has been used for this purpose. Every hour and a half, the minute hand completes a full rotation of the clock. Leap year has 366 days, and it comes each fourth year.

The conversion table of time is a necessary tool for various mathematical calculations. Conversion of time either involves multiplication or division to change the unit. This means that if you take a larger unit and convert it to a smaller unit, you must multiply. But if you take a smaller unit and convert it to a larger one, you must divide. There are three main units for time, i.e. hours, minutes, and seconds. Time relation is: 60 seconds = 1 minute, 60 minutes = 1 hour, 24 hours = 1 day, 7 days = 1 week, 12 months = 1 year.

FAQs on Conversion Of Time Explained With Formulas And Methods

1. What is conversion of time in Maths?

Conversion of time in Maths means changing a time value from one unit to another, such as hours to minutes or seconds to days. It is based on standard time relationships like:

  • 1 hour = 60 minutes
  • 1 minute = 60 seconds
  • 1 day = 24 hours
Time conversion is commonly used in word problems, speed calculations, and real-life scheduling situations.

2. How do you convert hours into minutes?

To convert hours into minutes, multiply the number of hours by 60. The formula is:

  • Minutes = Hours × 60
Example: Convert 3 hours into minutes.
  • 3 × 60 = 180 minutes
This method is used in time conversion problems and elapsed time calculations.

3. How do you convert minutes into seconds?

To convert minutes into seconds, multiply the number of minutes by 60. The formula is:

  • Seconds = Minutes × 60
Example: Convert 5 minutes into seconds.
  • 5 × 60 = 300 seconds
This conversion is important in speed, physics, and timing calculations.

4. How do you convert seconds into minutes?

To convert seconds into minutes, divide the number of seconds by 60. The formula is:

  • Minutes = Seconds ÷ 60
Example: Convert 240 seconds into minutes.
  • 240 ÷ 60 = 4 minutes
Division is used when converting from a smaller unit of time to a larger unit.

5. What is the formula to convert days into hours?

To convert days into hours, multiply the number of days by 24. The formula is:

  • Hours = Days × 24
Example: Convert 2 days into hours.
  • 2 × 24 = 48 hours
This time conversion is frequently used in calendar and duration problems.

6. How do you convert hours into seconds directly?

To convert hours into seconds directly, multiply the number of hours by 3600. This is because:

  • 1 hour = 60 minutes
  • 1 minute = 60 seconds
  • So, 1 hour = 60 × 60 = 3600 seconds
Example: Convert 2 hours into seconds.
  • 2 × 3600 = 7200 seconds
This shortcut avoids converting step by step.

7. How do you convert time from minutes to hours?

To convert minutes into hours, divide the number of minutes by 60. The formula is:

  • Hours = Minutes ÷ 60
Example: Convert 150 minutes into hours.
  • 150 ÷ 60 = 2.5 hours
You may also write 2.5 hours as 2 hours 30 minutes.

8. What is the difference between 12-hour and 24-hour time format?

The difference between 12-hour and 24-hour time format is that 12-hour time uses AM and PM, while 24-hour time counts hours from 00 to 23. Key points:

  • 12-hour format: 1:00 AM to 12:59 PM and 1:00 PM to 12:59 AM
  • 24-hour format: 00:00 to 23:59
Example: 3:00 PM in 24-hour format is 15:00. This conversion is common in digital clocks and timetables.

9. How do you solve word problems on conversion of time?

To solve word problems on conversion of time, first convert all time values into the same unit before calculating. Follow these steps:

  • Read the question carefully.
  • Convert time into a common unit (minutes or seconds).
  • Perform the required operation (add, subtract, multiply, or divide).
  • Convert back if needed.
Example: 1 hour 30 minutes = 90 minutes before performing calculations.

10. What are the common mistakes in time conversion?

The most common mistakes in time conversion involve using the wrong conversion factor or forgetting to multiply or divide by 60. Common errors include:

  • Using 100 instead of 60 for minutes and seconds
  • Forgetting that 1 day = 24 hours
  • Not converting mixed units (e.g., hours and minutes) into a single unit first
Always remember that time conversions are based on multiples of 60 and 24, not 10.