I'm having a hard time figuring out how to convert DMS to decimal degrees. Does anyone know a way to do this on paper? Say I wanted to convert 85 degrees 16 minutes and 25 seconds to decimal degrees. How would I do that by hand?

I know there is a formula for converting degrees to DMS like 310.125 degrees and so I figured there was a formula for the other. Can anyone help? I googled it...I can't find it.

I don't know how to do it, but Wolfram Alpha is a computational search engine that tells you the answer to pretty much any math problem you have:

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=85+...25+seconds

Update:

Here's how you do it: http://www.ehow.com/how_2363249_form-dec...-form.html

(September 4, 2009 at 10:11 pm)Tiberius Wrote: I don't know how to do it, but Wolfram Alpha is a computational search engine that tells you the answer to pretty much any math problem you have:

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=85+...25+seconds

Update:

Here's how you do it: http://www.ehow.com/how_2363249_form-dec...-form.html

Thanks. Oh yeah duh that would make sense. I mean if you take 310. 125 degrees and make 310 your degrees and multiply the 125 by 60 for the minutes and then multiply that answer times sixty you get the seconds. Only makes sense to take DMS and divde by 60. Duh..the opposite. Sometimes I have blonde moments. I also found an engine that would do it for me...too bad it's not available on a test.