Convert Second to Minute (s → min)

Converting seconds to minutes is straightforward: multiply by the conversion factor. Follow these three steps to do it by hand or in your head.

1. 1
   Take your value in seconds

   Start with the number of seconds (s) you want to convert.
2. 2
   Multiply by 0.016667

   The conversion factor from s to min is 0.016667. Multiply your value by this number.
3. 3
   Read the result in minutes

   The result is your value in minutes (min).

Multiply the value in seconds by 0.016667. For the reverse direction, multiply by 60.

• ✓60 s = 1 minute; 3600 s = 1 hour; 86,400 s = 1 day.
• ✓For sub-second intervals use ms (milliseconds), µs (microseconds) and ns (nanoseconds).
• ✓The symbol is s (lowercase). "sec" is informal.

• ✗Writing S instead of s for the second.
• ✗Confusing second of time with second of arc in astronomy.
• ✗Assuming microsecond and millisecond are similar — 1 ms = 1000 µs.

What is the Second?

The second is the base SI unit of time. Since 1967, it has been defined by atomic physics: the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium-133 atom. This makes the second extraordinarily reproducible — modern atomic clocks based on optical transitions can keep time to a few parts in 10¹⁸. The second is the foundation of all time measurements: the minute (60 s), the hour (3,600 s), the day (86,400 s). It is also fundamental in physics — speeds (m/s), accelerations (m/s²), frequencies (Hz = 1/s), and Planck's constant all reference the second. International civil time, GPS, and the internet's time synchronization all depend on cesium-based atomic seconds. The second relates to the millisecond (1,000 ms = 1 s), the microsecond, and the nanosecond.

• Everyday timekeeping
• Scientific and engineering measurements
• Sports timing (100 m sprint in ~10 s)

What is the Minute?

The minute equals exactly 60 seconds and is the universal unit for short durations in daily and professional life. Its base-60 origin traces to ancient Babylonian astronomy, where the sexagesimal (base 60) system was used for celestial calculations because 60 has many divisors (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60), making fractions easy. The minute is the standard for cooking times, exercise durations, meeting lengths, train and flight schedules, and music tempos (BPM). The minute relates to the second (1 min = 60 s) and the hour (60 min = 1 h). Despite proposals to decimalize time during the French Revolution (10-hour days with 100-minute hours), the sexagesimal system endured. The minute also has subdivisions in geography (1° latitude = 60 minutes of arc) and astronomy.

• Meeting, appointment and class durations
• Cooking times (pasta 10 min, bread 30 min)
• Exercise interval timing