How to Use a Cricket as a Thermometer

Male crickets rub their wings together to attract females. You can measure the air temperature to within a few degrees by listening to a chirping cricket and applying a simple mathematical formula.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Timers
• Stopwatches

1. Count the number of times that the cricket chirps in 14 seconds.

2. Add 40 to this number. This will be the air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

Tips & Warnings

• Different species of crickets respond differently to the air temperature and will use slightly different calculations. This formula is based upon an average of common cricket species.

• To calculate the temperature in degrees Celsius, count the number of chirps in 8 seconds and add 3.

• The accuracy of these formulas decreases as the air temperature nears freezing.

• A chirping cricket is considered to be a sign of good luck in some countries, such as Britain.