As it cools, the opposite occurs. Most household thermometers use alcohol. If water were used, the thermometer would be limited to mild temperature conditions because either freezing or boiling would break the thermometer. Most people in the United States are more familiar with the Fahrenheit scale, but the majority of the world commonly uses the Celsius scale. The United States is in the process of bringing the metric system into common usage, so schools should emphasize the Celsius scale and be sure that our students are competent in its use.
Scientists learn to convert from one scale to the other mathematically.
This skill is not critical for students at this grade level. However, students should be able to read a thermometer and know a few common temperatures for comparison, such as freezing point of water, body temperature, and boiling point of water at sea level. On the Fahrenheit scale, freezing point of water is 32 degrees, body temperature is 98.6 degrees, and boiling point of water at sea level, is 212 degrees. On the Celsius scale, freezing point of water is 0 degrees, body temperature is 37 degrees, and boiling point of water at sea level is 100 degrees. Heat and Light 02 - Students will gather data about properties of heat and communicate observations.