The relationship of temperature readings on different temperature scales is common topic in introductory chemistry texts (1-4), and the difficulties students have with temperature scale conversions have been discussed several times over the past 70 years in this Journal (5-11). A variety of formulas for converting temperatures on one scale to those on another are offered by textbooks, usually with little more elaboration than the inclusion of a picture of two thermometers using two different scales, and often with little attention given to the units involved. Examples of such equations for converting from Celsius temperatures to Fahrenheit temperatures include the following.
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