TEMPERATURE CONVERSIONS

INTRODUCTION

A. There are two different scales used for measuring temperature. The Fahrenheit scale, which is the most common, has the boiling point of water as 212° F and the freezing point of water as 32° F.

  1. The Centigrade (Celsius) scale, which is used by chemists, has the boiling point of water as 100° C and the freezing point of water as 0° C.
  2. The storage temperature of drugs that require refrigeration is normally expressed in degrees centigrade. Many of the temperature gauges used in refrigerators are graduated in degrees Fahrenheit. At times, it is necessary to calculate a change from one scale to the other.
FORMULA

From Fahrenheit to Centigrade or from Centigrade to Fahrenheit using this formula:

5F = 9C + 160

5F -9C = 160

 ALGEBRAIC PRINCIPLES INVOLVED

A. Use the following steps:

Step 1: When bringing a number from one side of an equation to the other (transposition), the sign must be changed.

Step 2: When adding like signs, simply add and keep the same sign
Step 3: When adding unlike signs, subtract the smaller value from the larger and take the sign of the larger.
Step 4: When multiplying or dividing, if the signs are alike the answer will always be plus. If the signs are different, the answer will always be minus:

Example: Convert -30° F to ° C

Formula: 5F = 9C + 160

Replace: 5 (-30) = 9C + 160

-150 = 9C +160 Step I is applied: -150 - 160 = 9C

Step II is applied: -310 = 9C

Step IV is applied: -310/9 = C => C = -34.4° C

The result is -34.4° C
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