Temperature Scales

Celsius, Fahrenheit and kelvin

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• $F = \tfrac95 C + 32$; $K = C + 273.15$; −40 °C = −40 °F.
• Temperature ratios only make sense in kelvin, which starts at absolute zero.
• Temperature changes use only the scale factor, not the offset.

Steps

1. Three scales
2. Body temperature
3. Where the scales agree
4. Twice as hot?
5. Room temperature in kelvin
6. A change in temperature