Convert 15 Minutes to Hours: Time Unit Conversion Problem

Q: Why do I divide by 60 instead of multiply?

Think about it logically: minutes are smaller units than hours. Since 60 minutes = 1 hour, you need fewer hours than minutes. Division makes the number smaller, which is correct!

Q: How do I simplify 15/60 to 1/4?

Find the Greatest Common Divisor (GCD) of 15 and 60, which is 15. Then divide both numerator and denominator: $ \frac{15 ÷ 15}{60 ÷ 15} = \frac{1}{4} $

Q: Can I write 1/4 as a decimal instead?

Yes! $ \frac{1}{4} = 0.25 $ hours. But be careful - 0.15 is not the same as $ \frac{1}{4} $. Always convert fractions to decimals properly.

Q: What if I had 30 minutes or 45 minutes?

30 minutes: 30 ÷ 60 = $ \frac{1}{2} $ hour45 minutes: 45 ÷ 60 = $ \frac{3}{4} $ hourThe method stays the same!

Q: How can I remember this conversion?

Remember: "Minutes to hours, divide by 60" and "Hours to minutes, multiply by 60". Think about which unit is bigger to know the direction!

Unit Conversion with Time Fractions

$15min=?hr$

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Understand the problem

$15min=?hr$

Step-by-step solution

To convert 15 minutes to hours, we will use the conversion factor that 1 hour equals 60 minutes. Our task is to determine how many hours 15 minutes represents.

Step 1: Start with the given number of minutes, which is 15 minutes.
Step 2: Use the conversion formula, which states that the number of hours is equal to the number of minutes divided by 60. This is because there are 60 minutes in one hour.
Step 3: Apply the formula: $\text{hours} = \frac{\text{minutes}}{60} = \frac{15}{60}$
Step 4: Simplify the fraction $\frac{15}{60}$ by dividing the numerator and the denominator by their greatest common divisor, which is 15.
Step 5: Simplify $\frac{15}{60}$ to $\frac{1}{4}$ .

Therefore, 15 minutes is equivalent to $\frac{1}{4}$ hours.

The correct answer is $\frac{1}{4}$ .

Final Answer

$\frac{1}{4}$

Key Points to Remember

Essential concepts to master this topic

Rule: One hour equals 60 minutes for all conversions
Technique: Divide minutes by 60: 15 ÷ 60 = 15/60
Check: Multiply answer by 60: 1/4 × 60 = 15 minutes ✓

Common Mistakes

Avoid these frequent errors

Multiplying instead of dividing by 60
Don't multiply 15 × 60 = 900 hours! This gives a huge wrong answer because you're going the wrong direction. Always divide minutes by 60 to get hours since there are 60 minutes in one hour.

Practice Quiz

Test your knowledge with interactive questions

$$ 7min=?hr $$

FAQ

Everything you need to know about this question

Why do I divide by 60 instead of multiply?

Think about it logically: minutes are smaller units than hours. Since 60 minutes = 1 hour, you need fewer hours than minutes. Division makes the number smaller, which is correct!

How do I simplify 15/60 to 1/4?

Find the Greatest Common Divisor (GCD) of 15 and 60, which is 15. Then divide both numerator and denominator: $\frac{15 ÷ 15}{60 ÷ 15} = \frac{1}{4}$

Can I write 1/4 as a decimal instead?

Yes! $\frac{1}{4} = 0.25$ hours. But be careful - 0.15 is not the same as $\frac{1}{4}$ . Always convert fractions to decimals properly.

What if I had 30 minutes or 45 minutes?

30 minutes: 30 ÷ 60 = $\frac{1}{2}$ hour
45 minutes: 45 ÷ 60 = $\frac{3}{4}$ hour
The method stays the same!

How can I remember this conversion?

Remember: "Minutes to hours, divide by 60" and "Hours to minutes, multiply by 60". Think about which unit is bigger to know the direction!

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