Time conversion chart
A time conversion chart shows how the units of time fit together: 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day. This one also turns minutes into parts of an hour, so 15 minutes is 1/4 of an hour, or 0.25.
Free printable PDF, 3rd grade to 5th grade.
One page, black and white, prints the same every time.
What is on the sheet
Units of time
| Unit | Equals |
|---|---|
| 1 minute | 60 seconds |
| 1 hour | 60 minutes = 3,600 seconds |
| 1 day | 24 hours = 1,440 minutes |
| 1 week | 7 days = 168 hours |
| 1 month | 28, 29, 30 or 31 days |
| 1 year | 12 months = 52 weeks and 1 day = 365 days |
| 1 leap year | 366 days |
| 1 decade | 10 years |
| 1 century | 100 years |
| 1 millennium | 1,000 years |
Minutes as part of an hour
| Minutes | Fraction of an hour | Decimal hours |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 1/12 | 0.083… |
| 10 minutes | 1/6 | 0.166… |
| 15 minutes | 1/4 | 0.25 |
| 20 minutes | 1/3 | 0.333… |
| 25 minutes | 5/12 | 0.416… |
| 30 minutes | 1/2 | 0.5 |
| 35 minutes | 7/12 | 0.583… |
| 40 minutes | 2/3 | 0.666… |
| 45 minutes | 3/4 | 0.75 |
| 50 minutes | 5/6 | 0.833… |
| 55 minutes | 11/12 | 0.916… |
| 60 minutes | 1 | 1 |
Converting with the chart
To change a big unit into a smaller one, multiply: 3 hours is 3 × 60, which is 180 minutes. To go from small to big, divide: 300 seconds is 300 ÷ 60, which is 5 minutes. A child who is not sure which to do can ask whether the answer should be a bigger number or a smaller one. There are always more of the small units.
The second table is for times that do not fill a whole hour. 45 minutes is 3/4 of an hour, so 2 hours 45 minutes is 2 3/4 hours, or 2.75. The decimals that go on forever are cut off after three places and end in dots.
When children learn it
Third grade tells time to the minute and works out elapsed time (CCSS 3.MD.A.1). Fourth grade converts hours to minutes and minutes to seconds and solves word problems with them (4.MD.A.1 and 4.MD.A.2), and fifth grade converts in both directions (5.MD.A.1).
Common questions
- Why is a year 52 weeks and 1 day?
- 52 weeks is 364 days, one short of 365. That extra day is why a birthday moves one day of the week later each year, or two days when a leap day comes in between.
- How do I turn minutes into decimal hours?
- Divide the minutes by 60. 30 minutes is 30 ÷ 60 = 0.5 hours, and 20 minutes is 0.333… hours. The second table has every 5 minutes worked out.