Temperature Conversions

Temperature Scales

• Celcius (°C) or centigrate is the metric measurement of temperature used in most of the world.

  • 0°C is the freezing point of water at sea level and it boils at 100°C.

• Fahrenheit (°F) is an imperial temperature scale mainly used in the United States.

  • Water freezes at 32°F and boils at 212°F (at sea level)
  • °F does not have the same magnitude as Centigrade and Kelvin - there is 180°F difference between freezing, but both a 100°C and a 100 K difference.
  • A related, absolute, scale called Rankine (°R) has 0°R at absolute zero (0 K) so °R = °F + 459.67

• Kelvin (K) is an absolute temperature scale where 0 K is ‘absolute zero’ (the temperature which all thermal motion ceases or -273.15°C)

  • Water freezes at 273.15 K and water boils at 373.15 K.
  • °C and K have the same magnitude, so a difference of 1 °C is the same as a difference of 1 K.

Conversion Table

For temperature intervals 1 K = 1 °C = 9/5 °F

Example Temperatures