How to Convert Temperature from Fahrenheit to Celsius

The Fahrenheit temperature scale was created by German scientist Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit in 1714 in Holland. As with other temperature scales, the Fahrenheit scale is relative to the freezing and boiling points of water. Using the Fahrenheit temperature scale, the freezing point of water is 32 degrees and the boiling point of water is 212 degrees. Fahrenheit temperatures can be easily converted to Celsius.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Scratch paper and pen
• Calculator, if neccessary

1. Understand why you may need to convert temperatures from Fahrenheit. Though the United States still primarily uses the Fahrenheit scale, most of the rest of the world uses Celsius. The Celsius temperature scale is part of the metric system. When traveling outside the United States, you will find that the majority of your destinations use the Celsius scale in their weather reports. Even if you do not have access to an online temperature converter, it is fairly simple to convert Fahrenheit temperature to Celsius temperature by hand.

2. Begin with the temperature in Fahrenheit.

3. Subtract 32 from the Fahrenheit temperature.

4. Divide the answer by 9.

5. Multiply that answer by 5. The answer will be the temperature in Celsius.

6. Understand the following example. If it is 77 degrees Fahrenheit, subtract 32 from 77 and the answer is 45. Divide 45 by 9 and you get 5. Multiply 5 by 5 and you get 25. 77 degrees Fahrenheit is equal to 25 degrees Celsius.

Tips & Warnings

• Check the weather reports when traveling to out of the United States. Convert the forecasted temperatures to Fahrenheit, so you will know what temperatures to expect.