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Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 16:30:11 +1100
Subject: Re: Help with some python homework...
From: Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com>
Cc: "python-list@python.org" <python-list@python.org>
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On Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 4:12 PM,  <scottwd80@gmail.com> wrote:
> **If I leave my house at 6:52 am and run 1 mile at an easy pace (8:15 per mile), then 3 miles at tempo (7:12 per mile) and 1 mile at easy pace again, what time do I get home for breakfast?**
>
>
>
>      seconds = 1
>      hours = seconds / (60*60)
>      seconds = seconds - hours*60*60
>      minutes = seconds / 60
>      seconds = seconds - minutes *60
>
>      time_left_house = 6 * hours + 52 * minutes
>
>      miles_run_easy_pace = 2 * (8 * minutes + 15 * seconds)
>
>      miles_run_fast_pace = 3 * (7 * minutes + 12 * seconds)
>
>
>      total_time_run = miles_run_easy_pace + miles_run_fast_pace + time_left_house

Thanks for being up-front about it being homework. I'll give you one
broad hint, and see if you can figure it out from there.

Your beginning work is not actually achieving anything useful. To make
your next steps work, what you actually want is two very simple
assignments that will mean that "6 * hours" comes out as the number of
seconds in six hours. Then, when you've added all the different pieces
together, you'll have a final time that's measured in seconds - and
since that final time includes the time_left_house, it's actually
going to be the number of seconds since midnight. This is actually an
excellent way to represent time (number of seconds since some
"beginning point" aka epoch). There's then just one last step: Convert
it into hours, minutes, and seconds, for display. You have most of the
code for doing that.

So, work on this in two parts. In the first part, make your program
calculate how many seconds after midnight you'll get home. (The
correct answer there is 27006, according to my calculations. Of
course, you need to have a program that produces the correct answer,
not just the answer.) Then work out how to make that display as
hh:mm:ss.

I think you can probably get it from there - you're already a lot of
the way toward it. But if not, you know where to find us :)

ChrisA