Key Points
- Celsius and Fahrenheit are two common units for measuring temperature, with Celsius being the global unit.
- The freezing point of water is 0 degrees Celsius (0ºC) and 32 degrees Fahrenheit (32ºF), while the boiling point is 100ºC and 212ºF, respectively.
- A Celsius-to-Fahrenheit chart is a convenient way to convert temperatures quickly without calculations.
- The conversion formula for Celsius to Fahrenheit is ºF = (ºC * 9/5) + 32, and for Fahrenheit to Celsius is ºC = (ºF – 32) * 5/9.
It may surprise you to learn that the most common unit for measuring temperature isn’t Fahrenheit. In fact, the most commonly used unit is Celsius, or centigrade. This is part of the metric system of units and many countries around the world use it. If you’re traveling abroad to a country that uses the metric system, they will display temperatures in Celsius, so it’ll be helpful to be able to convert them into a unit that makes more sense to you. Similarly, if you’re working in the sciences, chances are you’ll need to use Celsius. In this article, we’re going to provide you with a simple Celsius-to-Fahrenheit conversion chart, so that you can convert common temperatures easily. In addition, we’ll give you the general formula for converting more precise numbers. Let’s begin!
What are Celsius and Fahrenheit?
In simple terms, Celsius and Fahrenheit are two of the most common units for measuring temperature. Celsius, or centigrade, is regarded as the global unit, as it’s used a lot more frequently. While both scales are based on the freezing and boiling temperatures of water at standard atmospheric pressure, they do differ significantly. For example, the freezing point of water is given as 0 degrees Celsius, or 0ºC, whereas in Fahrenheit, it’s 32ºF. For the boiling point, the Celsius figure is 100ºC, but in Fahrenheit, it’s 212ºF.
Both Fahrenheit and Celsius were developed in the early 18th century, only 18 years apart. The Polish physicist, Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, based the Fahrenheit scale on human body temperature (approximately 98.6ºF), the freezing point of water (0ºF), and the coldest temperature he could achieve with an ice-salt mixture (-0.32ºF). This scale was introduced in 1724, although it wasn’t long before the Swedish physicist, Anders Celsius, would develop his own scale. The Celsius system is based on separating the temperature range between water’s boiling and freezing points into 100 equivalent intervals, originally indicating 100ºC as the freezing point. However, this has been revised since, essentially being reversed, giving us the Celsius scale we’re familiar with.
Today, more countries use Celsius than any other unit, particularly those that have adopted the metric system. The scientific community also relies on Celsius for the most part, although some applications in the U.S., such as engineering, may use Fahrenheit instead. If you’re a scientist or science student, you may find our amino acid, molecular geometry, or electronegativity charts useful as well.
What Is a Celsius-To-Fahrenheit Chart?
A Celsius-to-Fahrenheit chart is a convenient way to get an approximate idea of the conversion from one unit to another. Generally, the chart will show a range of the most common temperature conversions, usually with local weather temperatures in mind. The chart allows you to convert your desired temperature quickly, without having to perform any calculations.
How to Use Our Celsius-To-Fahrenheit Chart, With an Example
As far as charts go, this one isn’t too complicated. However, illustrating it with an example will help you see how it works. Let’s say we’re traveling abroad to Italy, where local temperatures are given in Celsius. We’ve checked the weather forecast, which says that the temperature during our stay will hover around 31ºC. To find out what this is equivalent to in Fahrenheit, we locate 31ºC in the chart and find the corresponding Fahrenheit value. In this case, the value is given as 87.8, so we know that the temperature is equal to 87.8ºF.
Similarly, we can use the chart to convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius, if required. The process is similar, except you’ll locate your Fahrenheit value and read off the corresponding Celsius value. For example, if your local temperature is 100ºF, you can find 100.4ºF in the table, which is quite close. This corresponds to 38ºC. This way, you can let your European friends know just how hot it is on a summer’s day.
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What Is the Conversion Formula?
Although our chart gives a wide range of temperature values, sometimes you may want something a bit more specific. In this case, you can refer to the general conversion formula. This is a little more complex, but not too hard to use. The formula for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit is given as:
ºF = (ºC * 9/5) + 32
Where ºF is the temperature in Fahrenheit, and ºC is the temperature in Celsius. To illustrate, let’s take 30ºC. If we multiply this by 9/5 and then add 32, we end up with 86ºF.
We can also use this formula in reverse to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius. We would write this as:
ºC = (ºF – 32) * 5/9
Using the same example, if we subtract 32 from 86 and then multiply by 5/9, the result is 30ºC.
Wrapping Up
To summarize, converting from Celsius to Fahrenheit may seem like a daunting task. But it’s relatively easy to do once you have a chart to hand. By finding the temperature value that you know, you can read off the corresponding value to convert your temperature in no time. You can use our chart to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, or the other way round. This will be most useful if you’re traveling to a country that uses Celsius to display their temperatures, or if you’re working on a science or engineering project and need to convert your units. If you want a more precise calculation for a value that’s not displayed in the chart, you can refer to the conversion formula instead.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©1000Photography/Shutterstock.com.
