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THE HEAT IS ON

Have you ever looked at a thermometer and wondered exactly what all those confusing numbers were all about? Don't worry, you are probably not alone. Sometimes one thermometer might have two different types of scales representing two different ways of measuring temperature and they can be very confusing to read. Not to worry though. When you have completed this page, you should be well on your way to figuring it all out. You are about to hear about TALES OF SCALES.

graphic courtesy of ARG

THE TALE OF THREE GUYS AND A THREE SCALES The temperature scale that you are probably the most familiar with is the Fahrenheit scale. Guess who invented it? A guy by the name of Fahrenheit of course. One cool thing about science is that if you invent or discover something, you usually get to name it after yourself. In the early 1700s, Gabriel Fahrenheit noticed that mercury could be used in a tube to find out how hot or cold something was. He also developed a scale for this new gadget. Today we call this gadget a thermometer. The only problem with Fahrenheit's scale is that it is a little strange. In the Fahrenheit scale, 212 degrees is the temperature at which water boils, and 32 degrees is the temperature at which water freezes. That didn't make too much sense to a guy by the name of Anders Celsius, so later on in that same century he decided to make a new scale for the thermometer. He said that the freezing point of water should be 0 degrees and boiling should be 100 degrees. Guess what?

It took a while, but a couple of hundred years after the Celsius dude invented his scale, some scientists decided that we should name his scale after him. The scale tale doesn't end with these two guys either. Another guy by the name of William Kelvin said it would be nice to not have any negative numbers so he figured out the coldest temperature things could get and called it Absolute Zero. Guess what his scale is called? If you said Kelvin you are catching on. You will learn more about this absolute zero stuff later. Which scale do we use? It depends on who you are. Most people in the U.S. are accustomed to the Fahrenheit scale and use it. This scale makes almost no sense to the rest of the world. They mostly use the Celsius scale. Scientists, who like to be different, often use the Kelvin scale. The good thing about temperature scales is any of them will work and you can convert from one scale to another by doing some pretty easy math.

 

DO IT! Complete the following table. You may have to do some research to find the answers. You can get some major help by clicking the thermometer above.

DESCRIPTION	TEMPERATURE IN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT	TEMPERATURE IN DEGREES CELSIUS	TEMPERATURE IN DEGREES KELVIN
ABSOLUTE ZERO	.	.	.
COLDEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED ON EARTH	.	.	.
TEMPERATURE WHEN WATER FREEZES	.	.	.
ROOM TEMPERATURE (AVERAGE)	.	.	.
AVERAGE HUMAN BODY TEMPERATURE	.	.	.
HOTTEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED ON EARTH	.	.	.
TEMPERATURE WHEN WATER BOILS AT SEA LEVEL	.	.	.
TEMPERATURE AT WHICH WOOD BURNS	.	.	.
TEMPERATURE ON THE SUN'S SURFACE	.	.	.

DO IT! Hey! Do you want to make your own thermometer? You can even make a scale and name it after you! Follow the directions below. Find the following items: water soda bottle clear, plastic straw crayon or marker modeling clay pan warm water food coloring glass thermometer Add food coloring to the water to desired color. Fill the soda bottle with the colored water until it is about 2 cm (1 inch)from the top. About 4 cm from the top of the straw, mold the clay around the straw. Put the long end of the straw in the bottle. (Be sure the straw does not touch the bottom.) Seal the clay around the bottle. Allow the water to rise in the straw until it stops (when the bottle reaches room temperature). Mark the water level on the straw, use the thermometer to determine the temperature in the room. Record the temperature at the mark on the straw. Fill the pan with very warm water and place the soda bottle in the pan. Allow the water level to rise in the straw until it stops and mark the level. Take the temperature of the water in the pan and record it next to the line. Make marks equal spaces apart between the two marks.

 

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Created January 20, 1999 by Kathleen Ochsenbein