Seconds to Hours Conversion

As well all know, we measure time using different units. The most commonly used time units are seconds, minutes and hours, but for longer events we can use other more suitable time units such as days, months, years, decades, etc.

Lots of times we deal with different units of time, and it is very practical to use a time unit conversion calculator, or to understand the proportionality in place to deduce the formula whenever we need it.

How do you convert seconds into hours?

You have to always remember that you have 60 seconds in one minute, and 60 minutes in one hour. So to convert seconds to hours you will need to start with the basic formula

\[S = 3600 H\]

which is telling you that H hours will have \(60 \times 60 \times H = 3,600 \times H\) seconds. Then solving for H, we get:

\[H = \displaystyle \frac{S}{3600}\]

which is the formula to convert seconds into hours.

For example, if you had S = 3,600 seconds, you compute

\[H = \displaystyle \frac{S}{3600} =\displaystyle \frac{3600}{3600} = 1 \text{ hour} \]

which is what we knew already.

Steps to convert seconds to hours

Step 1: Identify clearly the number of seconds you want to convert, and call it S. Make sure is measured in seconds

Step 2: This is how you change seconds into hours. You use the following formula:

\[H = \displaystyle \frac{S}{3600}\]

Step 3: Plugging the value of S into the above formula, you get the corresponding number of hours

How do I convert seconds to hours in Excel?

There are different ways, depending on how do you have your data formatted in Excel. But assuming that you have a certain amount of seconds on a cell, let's say, cell C1, and you want to calculate in cell D1 the number of corresponding hours.

So then, in D1 you will type something like "=C1/3600", which is the simplest representation of the above formula, which leads to the required conversion.

How do you do Milliseconds to hours?

We now that \(H = \displaystyle \frac{S}{3600}\), when S is measured in seconds. If S is measured in milliseconds, which is 1/1000 of a second, we would need to use the following formula:

\[H = \displaystyle \frac{MS}{3,600,000}\]

where \(MS\) is the time that we want to convert, that is measured in milliseconds.

Summary: How to go convert seconds to hours?

Bottom line, get the number of seconds S, and divide it by 3600. Very simple, and to the point. Now, you may forget the formula, in which case you can start with 1 hour = 3600 seconds, and use proportionality from there.

Example: Conversion of Seconds to Hours

Question: Convert 6 seconds to hours.

Solution:

We know that we need to get the number of seconds and divide it by 3600. So in this case we get:

\[H = \displaystyle \frac{S}{3600} = \displaystyle \frac{6}{3600} = 0.001666667\]

Hence, by applying the conversion formula, we get that 5 seconds = 0.001666667 hours.

Example 2

Question Convert 1500 seconds to hours

Solution:

We know that in order to convert seconds to hours we need to get the number of seconds and divide them by 3600. Hence, we use the following conversion formula:

\[H = \displaystyle \frac{S}{3600} = \displaystyle \frac{1500}{3600} = 0.001666667\]

Hence, by applying the conversion formula, we get that 1500 seconds = 0.416666667 hours.

Calculators relating hours, minutes, and seconds?

When dealing with time, always remember Babylonians and the sexagesimal (60) system. With that knowledge, you can always us proportionality to find any time conversions you need.

Conversely, you may be interested in converting hours to seconds, if for any reason the time unit you are working with is hours. For example, maybe you hired someone to do a job that you may pay by the minute, and you count the time and realize the person worked 3.44 hours for you, and you would like to know how much that is in seconds, so you calculate how much you owe to the person.