Why are the solutions different?

[Albert Chan]

(03-01-2020 12:51 AM)Jacob Wall Wrote:  Something like HMS→(40.35) doesn't do anything, the HMS format on the Prime is for display only, internally the value is a decimal.

(03-01-2020 10:47 AM)ijabbott Wrote:  SIN function can work on the sexagesimal number directly, treating it as DMS. For example, SIN(40°35’00”) ≈ 0.650553326665.

It may be better to think sexagesimal number as shorthand, D°M’S” ≡ (S/60+M)/60+D
There is no need for adding code for any functions to understand sexagesimal format.

SIN(40°35’00”) = SIN(40+35/60)

This is an improvement to packed 40.35, since that may be interpreted either way, decimal or DD.MMSS
Also, packed format might introduce conversion errors, see H->HMS conversion HP-15C vs. HP42S vs HP67