60
60 is a highly composite number that underlies minutes, seconds, and degrees of angle, inherited from the ancient Babylonian sexagesimal system.
- Even
- Composite
Where 60 fits
Why 60 is special
60's exceptional divisor count (12 divisors) is the practical reason ancient Babylon chose it as a counting base still used in timekeeping today.
Not just a mathematical number
60is also used in ways where ordinary arithmetic doesn't apply — each listed below with what genuinely does and doesn't follow from it.
- Mathematical number
A genuine quantity — its mathematical properties (prime, square, factors, and so on) are real facts about it.
A genuine quantity that ordinary arithmetic applies to — it can be prime, even, a perfect square, added to another number meaningfully, and so on.
- Measurement
Also used as a measurement — Minutes and seconds.
A quantity expressed against a defined unit or standard (24 hours in a day, 60 seconds in a minute) — arithmetic is meaningful, but the specific value is a fixed convention of the measuring system, not a discovered mathematical property.
Why does 60 appear so often (minutes, seconds, degrees)?
- Ancient Babylonian mathematics used a base-60 (sexagesimal) numeral system, one of the most historically influential number bases ever used.
- 60 is highly divisible — it has more divisors (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60) than any smaller positive integer, making it exceptionally convenient for splitting into equal fractions.
- That combination of mathematical convenience and a specific historical numeral system is why 60 was inherited into modern minutes, seconds, and (via 6 × 60) degrees in a circle.
Factors & digit properties
- Divisors (12)
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60
- Prime factorisation
- 2^2 × 3 × 5
- Digit sum
- 6
- Digital root
- 6
Representations
- Decimal
- 60
- Binary
- 111100
- Octal
- 74
- Hexadecimal
- 3c
- Roman numeral
- LX
- Scientific notation
- 6.000 × 10^1
Other mathematical patterns
- Abundant number
- Highly composite number
- Harshad (Niven) number
Related numbers & connections
15 is a factor of 60 (15 × 4 = 60).
View 15 →60 arcminutes make a degree, and 60 arcseconds make an arcminute.
60 frames per second is a common high frame rate used in sports broadcast and some modern digital cinema.
Mathematically related
- has factor15
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
Shares a distinctive class
- is associated withDegrees in a full turn
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
Numbers Around Us
- appears inFilm and video frame-rate standards
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
Other connections
- developed fromBabylonian sexagesimal (base-60) system
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
- is associated withMinutes and seconds
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
History
The ancient Babylonians used a base-60 (sexagesimal) number system, likely because 60 has an unusually high number of divisors (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60), making many fractions simple to express. Its legacy survives directly in modern minutes, seconds and degrees of angle.
DocumentedHistoryPeriod: c. 3rd millennium BCE
Common questions
Is 60 a prime number?
No, 60 is not prime.
What are the factors of 60?
The factors of 60 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60.
What is 60 in Roman numerals?
60 in Roman numerals is LX.
About this page's data
Mathematical facts:computed directly from the number's value — nothing to source or verify externally.
Contextual records: 1 reviewer-confirmed record, sourced and reviewed before publication.
Last reviewed: 15 July 2026