Let’s imagine you have 32.65 degrees. \u00a0In the “old days”, it might have been stated as 32 degrees, 39 minutes. \u00a0It was gotten this way:<\/p>\n
0.65×60=39 minutes.<\/p>\n
The “minutes” come from the decimal part of the degree measurement. \u00a0Since there are 60 minutes in a degree, take the decimal part of the degrees measurement and multiply by 60. \u00a0It’s the same as realizing that 0.25 hours (which is, of course, a quarter of an hour) is 15 minutes:<\/p>\n
0.25×60=15 minutes.<\/p>\n
What if, after multiplying by 60, you still get a decimal? \u00a0That resulting decimal can be converted to seconds by mutliplying by 60 once again.<\/p>\n
Example: \u00a0Convert 56.87 degrees to degrees, minutes, seconds.<\/p>\n
First, use the decimal part to get the minutes:<\/p>\n
0.87×60=52.2 minutes.<\/p>\n
Now, use the decimal from the minutes to get seconds:<\/p>\n
0.2×60=12 seconds.<\/p>\n
56.87 degrees is 56 degrees, 52 minutes, 12 seconds. \u00a0You can write it \u00a056\u00b052’12”.<\/p>\n
To my knowledge, mariners still use minutes and seconds. \u00a0High school math students may use them in the future. \u00a0When something is taken out of the math curriculum, it often returns years later….<\/p>\n