What is the Celsius value using the formula C = (F - 32) x 5/9?

What is the Celsius value using the formula C = (F - 32) x 5/9?

• A. C = (F - 32) x 5/9
• B. C = (F - 32) x 9/5
• C. C = (F + 32) x 5/9
• D. C = (F x 5) / 9 - 32

Answer: (A)

Converting Fahrenheit to Celsius uses two steps: remove the offset 32 from the Fahrenheit value, then apply the scale factor 5/9. The expression C = (F - 32) × 5/9 does exactly that, so it correctly converts a Fahrenheit temperature to Celsius. Subtracting 32 accounts for the difference between the two scales at the freezing point, and multiplying by 5/9 scales the remaining difference appropriately. For example, at the boiling point of water, F = 212, so C = (212 - 32) × 5/9 = 180 × 5/9 = 100, as expected. The other forms don’t fit this relationship: using 9/5 would invert the conversion, not map Fahrenheit to Celsius; adding 32 instead of subtracting is incorrect because it moves in the opposite direction away from the offset; and (F × 5)/9 − 32 applies the operations in a wrong order and yields a different, incorrect result.

Converting Fahrenheit to Celsius uses two steps: remove the offset 32 from the Fahrenheit value, then apply the scale factor 5/9. The expression C = (F - 32) × 5/9 does exactly that, so it correctly converts a Fahrenheit temperature to Celsius. Subtracting 32 accounts for the difference between the two scales at the freezing point, and multiplying by 5/9 scales the remaining difference appropriately.

For example, at the boiling point of water, F = 212, so C = (212 - 32) × 5/9 = 180 × 5/9 = 100, as expected.

The other forms don’t fit this relationship: using 9/5 would invert the conversion, not map Fahrenheit to Celsius; adding 32 instead of subtracting is incorrect because it moves in the opposite direction away from the offset; and (F × 5)/9 − 32 applies the operations in a wrong order and yields a different, incorrect result.