How would one convert 15 seconds to hours?
a. 15 seconds x (1 hour divided by 3600 seconds)
b. 15 seconds x 60 seconds
c. 15 seconds x (1 divided by 3600 seconds)
d. 15 seconds x (3600 seconds divided by 1 hour)
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
To convert 15 seconds to hours, you can use the following formula:
[ \text{Hours} = \text{Seconds} \times \left(\frac{1 \text{ hour}}{3600 \text{ seconds}}\right) ]
Thus, the correct option is a. 15 seconds x (1 hour divided by 3600 seconds).
Explanation
The time conversion process involves understanding the relationship between different time units. In this case, we want to convert seconds to hours. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how this works:
- Understanding the Units:
- We know that there are 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. Therefore, the total number of seconds in one hour can be calculated as follows:
[
60 \text{ seconds/minute} \times 60 \text{ minutes/hour} = 3600 \text{ seconds/hour}
]
- Setting Up the Conversion:
- When converting from seconds to hours, we want to express the number of hours in terms of seconds. We can use a conversion factor that relates hours to seconds. Here, 1 hour is equal to 3600 seconds.
- Applying the Conversion Factor:
- To convert seconds to hours, we multiply the number of seconds by the conversion factor (\frac{1 \text{ hour}}{3600 \text{ seconds}}). This factor effectively converts seconds into hours by canceling out the seconds unit:
[
15 \text{ seconds} \times \left(\frac{1 \text{ hour}}{3600 \text{ seconds}}\right) = \frac{15}{3600} \text{ hours}
] - Simplifying (\frac{15}{3600}) gives:
[
\frac{15}{3600} = \frac{1}{240} \text{ hours} \approx 0.00416667 \text{ hours}
]
- Conclusion:
- Thus, 15 seconds is equivalent to approximately 0.00417 hours. Using this method allows for consistent and accurate conversions between different time units.
In contrast, options b, c, and d either incorrectly multiply the seconds without considering the correct conversion factor or misrepresent the relationship between seconds and hours.