Understanding Hours

Hours

Definition

• A unit of time, equal to 60 minutes or 3600 seconds
• Divided into 24 equal periods, numbered from 0 to 23

Conversion

• 1 hour = 60 minutes
• 1 hour = 3600 seconds
• 1 hour = 1/24 of a day

Notation

• Hours are often represented using the 12-hour clock (e.g. 3:00 PM) or 24-hour clock (e.g. 15:00)
• The 12-hour clock uses AM (Ante Meridiem) for hours before noon and PM (Post Meridiem) for hours after noon

Time Zones

• Hours can vary depending on the time zone, which is determined by the longitude of a location
• Time zones are usually offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) by a whole number of hours, ranging from UTC-12 to UTC+12

Common Uses

• Scheduling and planning
• Measuring duration of events or tasks
• Expressing time of day or night