We all need to figure out the time sometimes. Whether it’s figuring out when a meeting started or how long you’ve been waiting for the bus, time calculations are a part of everyday life.
Luckily, there are tools to help you calculate the time, even tricky questions like “what time was it 50 minutes ago?”
This article will help you figure out how to find the answer, and it will show you the tools you can use for all your time-telling needs.
Understanding “Minutes Ago” Calculations
Working out what time it was “X minutes ago” is just a matter of simple subtraction. The key is understanding how minutes and hours relate to one another, especially when you have to “borrow” an hour.
Let’s say it’s currently 3:10 PM. If you want to know what time it was 50 minutes ago, you’ll have to borrow an hour from the 3, leaving you with 2:70 PM. Then you subtract the 50 minutes, which means the time was 2:20 PM.
But what happens when the math gets trickier? You might have to cross an hour boundary, like when you subtract 50 minutes from 1:05 PM. Or, even tougher, you might have to cross over into the previous day, like when you try to subtract 50 minutes from 12:30 AM.
Using a “Minutes Ago” Calculator
Okay, so how do you figure out what time it was exactly 50 minutes ago? Or 3,482 minutes ago? That’s where a “Minutes Ago” calculator comes in handy.
Introduction to Time Calculators
These calculators do one simple thing: they tell you what the date and time were if you go back a certain number of minutes from right now.
You enter the number of minutes, and the calculator spits out the corresponding time and date.
How to Use a Typical Calculator
Most of these calculators have a single input field where you type in the number of minutes. Usually, they only accept numbers. If you enter zero (or just leave it blank), they’ll probably show you the current time.
The output typically shows you the time and date it was that many minutes ago, and might even tell you how many days ago that was.
Benefits of Using a Calculator
The best thing about these calculators is that they’re super fast and accurate. You don’t have to do any math yourself, so you’re less likely to make a mistake. Plus, you get the answer instantly!
How to figure out “50 minutes ago”
Okay, so you need to know what time it was 50 minutes ago. Here’s how you can do it:
Doing it by hand
Let’s say it’s 10:45 AM right now. To figure out what time it was 50 minutes ago, you just subtract 50 minutes from the current time. So, 10:45 AM minus 50 minutes equals 9:55 AM. Easy peasy!
Let a calculator do it for you
If you don’t want to do the math yourself, no worries! Just punch “50” into the “Minutes Ago” input field on a calculator and it’ll spit out the time and date from 50 minutes earlier.
Why would you need to know this?
Knowing what time it was a certain number of minutes ago comes in handy for things like tracking activity, piecing together timelines, or figuring out deadlines.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was 50 minutes ago if it was 4 times as many minutes past 3 o’clock?
Okay, let’s break this down. “4 times as many minutes past 3 o’clock” implies we need to determine how many minutes past 3 it currently is. To do so we can use the equation:
4 x = current time
The question is also asking for what time it was 50 minutes ago, so we can adjust the equation to:
4 x + 50 = current time
To solve this question, we also need to know the amount of minutes in an hour. There are 60 minutes in an hour, so we can subtract 60 from the equation until we have the number of minutes past the current hour. Let’s try out some numbers.
4 10 + 50 = 90
90 is higher than 60, so we need to subtract 60.
90 – 60 = 30
Thus, 50 minutes before 3:10 would be 2:20.
What is 50 minutes past 1?
50 minutes past 1 o’clock is 1:50.
How long is 50 minutes?
50 minutes is 50/60ths of an hour, or 0.83 repeating. It’s a little under an hour. It’s long enough to watch a TV show, but not quite long enough to watch most movies!
What’s fifty minutes from now?
That depends on what time it is right now! Add 50 minutes to the current time, and that’s your answer. Remember to account for AM/PM, and the possibility of crossing over to the next day!
The bottom line
So, if you want to know what time it was 50 minutes ago, you can either do the math yourself or use an online calculator. Either way, knowing how to figure out time calculations comes in handy for all sorts of things, and thankfully, there are some great tools out there to make it easier.