Turn Seconds Into Minutes: Breakdown, Practice Problems, & More

Learn to divide seconds by minutes with ease

Co-authored by Caroline Heiderscheit

Last Updated: March 24, 2023 Approved

Looking to convert seconds to minutes? That's a piece of cake! We're going to walk you through this super simple equation, step by step. And after this super quick read, you'll be an expert. Plus, we'll even include some practice problems to help you sharpen your skills. Ready to get started? Scroll down to learn everything you need to know!

Steps

1
There are 60 seconds in 1 minute. No matter where you are in the world, this is always the case. So that means:^{[1]
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- 60 seconds = 1 minute
- 120 seconds = 2 minutes
- 180 seconds = 3 minutes
- 240 seconds = 4 minutes
- 300 seconds = 5 minutes
2
Divide the number of seconds by 60 to calculate minutes. Because there are 60 seconds in 1 minute, dividing by 60 is how you'll figure out how many minutes have elapsed. If 360 seconds have passed, how many minutes have passed? We need to know how many 60 second chunks are in 360 seconds. So, we'll do this: 360/60. The answer is 6, so our answer is 6 minutes.^{[2]
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- Example: How many minutes are in 240 seconds?
- 1 Minute = 60 Seconds
- 240 / 60
- Answer: There are 4 minutes in 240 seconds.
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3
Multiply decimals by 60 to put your answer in minutes and seconds. Oftentimes the number of seconds will not perfectly convert into minutes, so your answer will include a decimal. This represents the number of seconds left over. For example, say you wanted to convert 7600 seconds to minutes: 7600 / 60 = 126.6. That ".6" isn't really useful in terms of time, so we'll multiply it by 60 to put it back into seconds: 60 x .6 = 36 seconds. Your answer is 126 minutes and 36 seconds!
- Example: How many minutes are in 90 seconds?
- 90 / 60 = 1.5 minutes
- 0.5 x 60 = 30 seconds
- Answer There is 1 minute and 30 seconds in 90 seconds.
4
Check your work by multiplying your answer by 60. If you did your work correctly, you'll end up with the same number of seconds that you started with. Looking at the previously example, notice that 126.6 x 60 = 7600, so the answer is correct.
5
Try some practice problems. Practice your conversions with the following examples. Then, check the answers we've included here to see if you've mastered the process!
- 1) Convert 45667 seconds to minutes
  - Answer: 761 min and 7 seconds
- 2) Convert 99800 seconds to minutes
  - Answer: 1663 min and 20 seconds
- 3) Convert 4454457555 seconds to minutes
  - Answer: 74240959 min and 15 seconds
6
Divide the number of minutes by 60 again to convert seconds to hours. There are also 60 minutes in an hour, so we use the same process, dividing by 60, to determine how many seconds are in an hour.
- Example: How many hours is 7200 seconds?
- 7200 / 60 = 120 minutes.
- 120 / 60 = 2 hours
- Answer: 7200 seconds equals 2 hours.

Calculator, Practice Problems, and Answers

Sample Seconds to Minutes Calculator

Sample Converting Seconds to Minutes Practice Problems

Sample Converting Seconds to Minutes Practice Answers

Community Q&A

Question

How can I change 560 seconds into minutes?

Community Answer

Follow the directions. Divide 560 by 60 to get 9.33333... Subtract the whole number (9) so you're just left with the .33333... part. Multiply by that by 60 to get 20. Your answer is 9 minutes 20 seconds.
Question

Do I divide or multiply?

Community Answer

Multiply by 60 if you want to convert minutes to seconds and by 3600 if converting hours to seconds
Question

How can I find minutes from fractions?

Community Answer

If you mean fractions of an hour, you multiply by sixty then multiply by the fraction, e.g. 3/4 of an hour = 60 X3 then divide by 4 = 45 minutes.