Sixty minutes is equal to how many degrees?

To understand why sixty minutes is equal to 60 degrees, it’s important to clarify the relationship between time and angles in terms of degrees. In the context of angular measurement, particularly in navigation and astronomy, one degree is subdivided into 60 minutes.

This system reflects how angular measurements can be broken down much like time is divided into smaller units. One degree is comprised of 60 minutes, and therefore, when 60 minutes accumulate, they represent a full 60 degrees. This is foundational in various applications, including navigation, where minutes are often used to express angles for precise location plotting.

The incorrect options stem from misunderstanding this subdivision of degrees. For instance, stating that 60 minutes equals 30 degrees represents a miscalculation of the basic conversion factor; to reach 30 degrees, one would only require half of the total minutes. Similarly, asserting that 60 minutes equates to 90 or 1 degree misinterprets both the conversion ratios involved in angular measurement and the specific equality that defines the relationship between minutes and degrees.