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-   -   Celcius/Centigrade to Fahrenheit (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/celcius-centigrade-to-fahrenheit-132067/)

Uncle Sam Jun 25th, 2001 12:10 AM

Celcius/Centigrade to Fahrenheit
 
In the UK and Europe, you will almost never see temperatures in Fahrenheit. To convert them, use the following formula:<BR><BR>Fahrenheit = Celcius/Centigrade x 9/5 + 32

John Jun 25th, 2001 12:14 AM

...and the reason is that we are civilized nations...

robo Jun 25th, 2001 03:32 PM

gee amazing and i bet fahrenheit to centigrade looks like C=fx5/9-32

Rex Jun 25th, 2001 04:25 PM

At the risk of returning to some of my old pedant ways, I think that such algebra is the main reason that most Americans have no idea what temperatures are in Celsius.<BR><BR>Post these on your refrigerator in 12 inch letters, and talk about them EVERY night at supper for two weeks before your trip, and it's probably just about all you will ever need to know about temperature conversions.<BR><BR>0 degrees C = 32 degrees F<BR>10 degrees C = 50 degrees F<BR>20 degrees C = 68 degrees F<BR>30 degrees C = 86 degrees F<BR><BR>Depending on the season you intend to travel (especially summer or winter) - - you might never need to the first (or last) line. You probably already knew the first line anyway.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Bob Brown Jun 25th, 2001 05:09 PM

Ahem Robo whatever.<BR>But I seem to detect a slight flaw in your computations for converting degrees in Fahrenheit to degrees in Celsius. 30 C is the same as 86 F. Your logic calculates like this: <BR>86 x 5 yields 430<BR>430 / 9 yields 47.7777<BR>47.77777 - 32 yields 15.7777<BR>not exactly the same.<BR>You must subtract 32 first.<BR>86 - 32 yields 54<BR>54 x 5 yields 270<BR>270 / 9 yields 30<BR><BR>The whole thing calulates easier if you use 1.8. Only two arithmetic operations rather than 3. <BR>(degrees F - 32)/1.8<BR>or degrees C x 1.8 + 32 where x is the symbol for multiplication. <BR><BR>You lose your bet.<BR>

John Jun 25th, 2001 05:25 PM

Forget all the above gobbledegook!<BR>To convert centigrade to fahrenheit, double the centigrade number and add 30. For example, 20 degrees C equals 70 degrees F. Close enough for us stupid Americans.<BR>John

Al Jun 25th, 2001 05:34 PM

You got that right. And it's useful to remember the old foot-soldier's method of converting kilometers to miles. Divide by two and add a few. Close enough, I've found.

aphra Jun 25th, 2001 06:52 PM

Celsius/Fahrenheit online converter:<BR><BR>http://vortex.bd.psu.edu/~jpp/finitemath/celsfahr.html

Bob Brown Jun 25th, 2001 07:02 PM

Why use approximations when a simple arithmetic procedure gets the answer?<BR>I doubt if you folks are that imprecise on the exchange rate when converting you money. If you are, then I have a few thousand I would like to convert, at my rate!!!<BR>Bet you get afternoon train departure times closer, too. But, subtracting 12 is not that difficult. Or is it??<BR><BR>Or how about the interest rate you pay on a house loan or a car loan?<BR>You multiply by .08 when the rate is .0825??<BR><BR>And what about your checkbook? If it off by $10, and not in your favor, do you say "To heck with it? Close enough."<BR><BR>

Dee Jun 25th, 2001 07:04 PM

Both John and Al are right regarding Celius and kilometers. When your catching the temperature given in celius, doubling and adding 30 works just fine to know what to wear. Same thing for kilometers and distance. I do need to know if something is 2 <BR>miles ~ or 10! Besides, I am not about to whip out a calculator in the middle of the main thoroughfare to figure out the distance - ball park is good enough.

letsall Jun 25th, 2001 08:47 PM

Bob, are you a math teacher or something? :-)<BR><BR>I can't do math in my head. Never could. Still in awe of the kid in my 8th grade class who could do square roots of enormous numbers -- in his head. <BR><BR>If something takes more than two steps, I'm outta there. And fractions in my head? Hahahaha. Believe me, you wouldn't want me to give you the "official" exchange rate -- you'd be there for years while I tried to figure it out! Take my "divide by ____ and know it's a little less".<BR><BR>I'm with Dee -- ballpark is good enough.

Art Jun 26th, 2001 11:40 AM

I believe that Poland is the only country that still uses Fahrenheit. (Mr Fahrenheit was born there.)<BR>40 Kilometers = 25 Miles<BR>80 Kilometers = 50 Miles<BR>160 Kilometers = 100 Miles<BR>

kam Jun 26th, 2001 11:53 AM

Al and John's formulas work for me! I also remember 0-15 cold, 20-35 nice, 40 and above hot. And, I was originally told 2/3 of the kms. equal miles, but I like the 1/2 and add some better! It suits my math skills!

Bob Brown Jun 26th, 2001 12:47 PM

A goodie a polemic. I haven't had a good fight all week. So let's start one. <BR>For "letsall". I was a history major as a graduate student, if that means anything. But I did get an education when I was in school.<BR>(Ohhh. That ought to get an irate response. But keep it clean. I can cuss and vulgarize too, but I try to refrain from it.)<BR><BR>For the contributor who said that Poland is the only country that uses Fahrenheit, the USA still uses it. Are we not still a country?<BR><BR>I find this whole thread a blatant testimony to the fact that the US of A trails the civilized world in the mathematical performance on achievemehnt tests by its high school students. <BR><BR>The local newspaper just reported the names of high school students who had won various scholarships and some who had achived perfect math scores on the SAT.<BR>The majority of them have last names of Asiatic origin, with some young man named Gupta who knocked the whole test on its collective posterior.<BR>Now we did have a fellow whose last name is Watson who creamed the test, too.<BR>But he is from Australia. He was so bored with it all that he left high school for college before he graduated. <BR>(But I will also be happy to tell you all about Miss Appleblossom!!)<BR>That should stir up the troops!!<BR>

Ms. Smartypants Jun 26th, 2001 01:00 PM

For what it's worth, I got 767 on my math SAT. Big deal. I can do arithmetic in my head. But really, for travelling purposes why the hell would I care if 20 degrees C is exactly 68 degrees F or approximately 70 degrees F? I mean, would I pack different clothes because of the 2 degrees? Common sense (remember that?) would dictate that there's a difference in the degree of exactness desirable when changing money than when converting ambient temperature. I guess I haven't felt the need to show off my ability to multiply fractions since I was in fourth grade.

John Jun 26th, 2001 01:06 PM

To: Bob Brown:<BR>Sorry you're having a bad day. <BR>John

my2cents Jun 26th, 2001 02:00 PM

Bob, <BR><BR>Obviously Art, was talking about countries in Europe, the title of this bulletin board! And since the US is not part of Europe, at least the last time I checked, his statement still stands.

Mika Jun 26th, 2001 03:40 PM

Buy a little thermometer in one of your sport shops (probably you live in the US)and hang it onto your bag or belt. Unfortunately in Europe they cannot be found. We bought a couple of them for friends in Europe and everybody loved them.(They are in Centigrade and Fahrenheit). They are also great for skiing.

Phil Jun 26th, 2001 05:00 PM

Just got back (June 8)from Germany,Austria and Switzerland. The double and add thirty worked for us. Atleast it is close enough for government work.


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