College

For one month, Sierra calculated her hometown's average high temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. She wants to convert the temperature from degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius using the function [tex]C(F) = \frac{5}{9}(F - 32)[/tex].

What does [tex]C(F)[/tex] represent?

Answer :

Final answer:

The function C(F) converts temperatures from Fahrenheit to Celsius by subtracting 32 from the Fahrenheit temperature and multiplying by 5/9. An example is converting 88°F to approximately 31.1°C. The Celsius scale is also known as 'centigrade' due to its 100-degree range between the freezing and boiling points of water.

Explanation:

The function C(F) represents the temperature in degrees Celsius. When you have a temperature in degrees Fahrenheit and you want to convert it to degrees Celsius, you can use this function by subtracting 32 from the Fahrenheit temperature and then multiplying by 5/9. This formula is essential for temperature conversions between the two scales.

For example, to convert 88°F to Celsius, you would do the following calculation:

  • C(88) = 5/9 * (88 - 32)
  • C(88) = 5/9 * 56
  • C(88) = 5 * 6.2222...
  • C(88) ≈ 31.1°C

The reason why the Celsius scale is sometimes called "centigrade" is that it is based on 100 degrees between the freezing and boiling points of water.