When converting Degrees/Minutes/Seconds to decimal degrees, what is the correct approach?

The process of converting Degrees/Minutes/Seconds (DMS) to decimal degrees involves combining the separate components of degrees, minutes, and seconds into a single decimal representation. The correct approach requires understanding how each unit relates to degrees.

To convert DMS to decimal degrees, you multiply the number of minutes by 1/60 (or 0.01667) since there are 60 minutes in a degree, and then multiply the number of seconds by 1/3600 (or 0.00027778) because there are 3600 seconds in a degree. The final step is to add these values together with the degrees.

The correct method involves multiplying the minutes by 60 and the seconds by 3600, then adding these products to the degrees to achieve the desired decimal degree value. This makes the third choice accurate, highlighting the necessary calculations for a proper conversion.

This method helps to ensure that each part of the DMS format contributes accurately to the final decimal result, making it suitable for applications like GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and mapping where computations involving decimal degrees are needed for location data.