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The Celsius to Fahrenheit MatchCard

The Celsius to Fahrenheit MatchCard investigates the freezing and boiling points of different substances; and practices converting between the two scales..

science-matchcard

Celsius and Farhenheit

Objective: Compare celsius and fahrenheit.

A simple starting point in comparing celsius and fahrenheit scales is to have the student take their temperature. If you have a thermometer that registers in both celsius and fahrenheit, check both.

Explain that the average temperature for humans is 98.6 F or 37.0 C.

To gain practice using both, check daily climate temperatures in both fahrenheit and celsius scales. Have them estimate the temperatures before checking them.

Boiling Point of Water

Here is an experiment to check the boiling point of water. It works best if you have a thermometer that measures both. You could also use two seperate thermometers.

Fill a pan 3/4 full of water.
Put the thermometer(s) in the water.
Turn the stove top on.
Observe the temperature as it rises on the thermometer.
Note the boiling point of water.

Students should realize that the boiling point of water is 212 degrees F or 100 degrees celsius. Point this out on the Celsius to Fahrenheit Matchcard.
Compare that with the fact that the human body temperature is 98.6 degrees F. Consider how confusing it would be if you mixed up the two scales.

Freezing Point of Water

It's a little trickier to test the freezing point of water. Here is how to do it:

Fill a tall container 3/4 full of water.
Put the tall container with water in a wider container, like a mixing bowl.
Put ice in the mixing bowl around the container of water.
Cover the ice with salt.
Stand the thermometer upright in the ice/salt mixture.
Put the bowls in the freezer.
Check the temperature every ten minutes.

Students should learn that the freezing point of water is 0 degree F or 32 degree C. Point this out on the Celsius to Fahrenheit Matchcard.

Consider

Which scale is easier to use?

Celsius - which has a boiling point of 100 degrees for water and freezing point of 0 for water?
Fahrenheit - which is what we are more used to when talking about weather temperatures?

There is no right or wrong answer. But the students should ponder the implications of the two different scales.

Take It Further

Explain that every substance has its own boiling point and freezing point. Those points are different for different substances. You may want to repeat the experiment and use other household liquids.

Juice (which is water plus other liquid)
salt water
milk
rubbing alchol
vinegar

Also note that all substances have a freezing point and a melting point. For some substances, those temperatures might be too extreme for us to experiment on a kitchen stove or freezer.

A Tasty Twist

You will likely get no complaints if you take your freezer experiments a bit further and make homemade ice cream. The directions are also on the Celsius to Fahrenheit Marchcard.

Add the following ingredients to a sandwich size resealable freezer bag:
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/2 cup of whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Seal the bag tightly.
Add the following to a large freezer resealable bag and mix well:
- 2 cups of ice
- 1 cup of salt
Put the small bag into the large bag. Seal tightly.
Wrap a towel around the large bag to prevent frost bite. Rock the mixture back and forth.

You might want to save a little of the final mixture to experiment on the boiling point of ice cream. But don't be surprised if there is nothing left.

Using the Celsius to Fahrenheit Matchcard

This is the fifth Matchcard of the Light and Energy Unit Study. You can download the Celsius to Fahrenhenit Matchcard here.

The student matches the body temperature and freezing/boiling points of water in fahrenheit and celsius with the illustration.

The second page is the Instructor's Guide with the correct answers.

The third page has the Information Pieces. Student's cut them apart and place them in the correct place on their copy of the Matchcard (first page.)

For more information on how to use the Matchcards, see the MatchCard Science Instructor's Guide.

Learning More

The Condensation MatchCard (Light and Energy-6) will take some of the temperature concepts from the Celsius to Fahrenheit Matchcad here even further.

Also, use the mathematical formulas to convert back and forth between the celsius and fahrenheit scales. Older students (7th grade and above) should know this formula. Younger students should be aware that it is available for use.

5/9(T - 32) Converts fahrenheit to celsius
9/5(T) + 32 Converts celsius to fahrenheit

The information pieces for the formula are on the third page of the Celsius to Fahrenheit MatchCard.

MatchCard Science

The activities and illustration above are from MatchCard Science, a homeschool science unit study. For the complete Light and Energy Unit Study follow this link. This unit study provides:

hands-on demonstrations
MatchCard reviews to master the material
suggestions for science projects to complete
instructions on a complete unit study curriculum

Currently this curriculum is under-going revision. We are providing free access to the unit study, as well as the Celsius to Fahrenheit MatchCard and other experiments with the desire that you will provide feedback as you are field testing the materials.

Science Notebook

If you are just using this single project, and are not in need of a full unit study, you might want your student to complete a science notebook entry for this project.

Return from the Celsius to Fahrenheit Matchcard to the MatchCard Science Main Page.