Minutes (min) and Seconds (s) explained
The second is the SI base unit of time, defined since 1967 by 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation from a caesium-133 atom. The minute is not an SI unit at all — it is one of a handful of non-SI units accepted for use with SI, retained because sexagesimal timekeeping has been in continuous use since Babylonian astronomy. Sixty was chosen because it divides evenly by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 30, which makes thirds and quarters of an hour whole numbers. Every computer timestamp, video timecode, audio sample rate and race timing system works in seconds internally, so converting minutes to seconds is usually the step before any real calculation.
Formula and worked examples
s = min × 60Multiply minutes by 60. A three-minute song is 180 seconds. A 45-minute football half is 2,700 seconds. A 90-minute film is 5,400 seconds. For a mixed time like 4 minutes 32 seconds, multiply the minutes and add the remainder: 4 × 60 + 32 = 272 seconds. To reverse it, divide by 60 and keep the remainder as seconds.
Minutes (min) to Seconds (s) conversion table
Common Minutes (min) values converted to Seconds (s). Every figure uses the same conversion factor as the calculator above.
| Minutes (min) | Seconds (s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 60 |
| 2 | 120 |
| 5 | 300 |
| 10 | 600 |
| 20 | 1200 |
| 50 | 3000 |
| 100 | 6000 |
Where you will use this
Video and audio editing
Timeline positions, transition lengths and export settings are frequently entered in seconds or frames. A 2-minute 30-second cut is 150 seconds, which at 24 frames per second is 3,600 frames.
Setting timeouts in code
JavaScript timers, HTTP timeouts and cache TTLs take seconds or milliseconds, never minutes. A 15-minute session timeout is 900 seconds, or 900,000 milliseconds for setTimeout.
Race pacing and split times
Running pace is quoted per kilometer or mile in minutes and seconds, but calculating a finish time means working in total seconds. A 5:30 per km pace is 330 seconds, so a 10 km race projects to 3,300 seconds, or 55 minutes.