SECOND Function

What is the SECOND Function?

The SECOND Function[1] is categorized under Excel DATE/TIME functions. The function returns the second component of a time as a number between 0-59. For example, it will return 49 for 1:19:49 PM.

Formula

=SECOND(serial_number)

The SECOND function uses only one argument:

Serial_number (required argument) – The time that contains the second we want to find.

The argument can be entered as:

1. A decimal (serial number) representation of an Excel time
2. A text representation of a time
3. A reference to a cell containing a time
4. A time value returned from another Excel function or formula

How to use the SECOND Function in Excel?

As a worksheet function, the SECOND function can be entered as part of a formula in a cell of a worksheet. To understand the uses of the function, let’s consider an example:

Example

Let’s see how this function works using the following inputs:

The results in Excel are shown in the screenshot below:

In case we get an error, we need to remember that Excel stores dates and times as serial numbers. For example, the date January 1, 2000, 12:00 PM is equal to the serial number 32526.5 in Excel. To check that Excel correctly recognizes a date or time, we can temporarily format the date as a number.

A few notes about the SECOND Function

1. Time values are a portion of a date value and represented by a decimal number (for example, 12:00 PM is represented as 0.5 because it is half of a day).
2. #VALUE! error – Occurs when the given serial_number is not a valid Excel time.

Click here to download the sample Excel file

Additional Resources

Thanks for reading CFI’s guide to important Excel functions! By taking the time to learn and master these functions, you’ll significantly speed up your financial analysis. To learn more, check out these additional CFI resources:

• Excel Functions for Finance
• Advanced Excel Formulas You Must Know
• Excel Shortcuts for PC and Mac
• MINUTE Function
• See all Excel resources