In this project you should note the two common scales of measuring temperature, Celsius and Fahrenheit. In the Fahrenheit scale, Daniel Fahrenheit arbitrarily decided that the freezing and boiling points of water would be separated by 180 degrees and he pegged freezing water at 32 degrees. So he made a thermometer, stuck it in freezing water, and marked the level of the mercury on the glass as 32 degrees. Then he stuck the same thermometer in boiling water and marked it 212 degrees. He then put 180 evenly spaced marks between those two points. In Celsius scale, Anders Celsius arbitrarily decided that the freezing and boiling points of water would be separated by 100 degrees and he pegged the freezing point of water at 0 degrees, and the boiling point at 100 degrees.
Project Ideas:
- Make a chart showing how to go from Celsius to Fahrenheit and back again.
- Make your own scale and show how to go from your scale to Celsius and Fahrenheit.
- Make your own thermometer.
- Use scientific thermometers to show that the boiling point of water is 212 degrees F, or that the freezing point is 32 degrees F. Then find out how many degrees it is to boil wax.
- Why the difference?
- Time how long it takes a household freezer to freeze water. What happens if you add salt to the water?
Link Resources to Complete the Science Fair Project
Related Science Fair Project Resources
Part of our Science Project Ideas Index
