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In early Science teaching in the USA, say K-8 Fahrenheit is probably the focus. Starting in High school its more of a mix of F/C/K, and once at the college / un
by veilrap 6y ago
In early Science teaching in the USA, say K-8 Fahrenheit is probably the focus. Starting in High school its more of a mix of F/C/K, and once at the college / university level it'll be pretty much exclusively C/K for science.
For a general consumption science article targeting an American audience it makes sense that Fahrenheit is used, because American's are used to it and its convenient for human temperatures. (More precision per degree, 0-100 is a common temperature range, mostly human comfortable).
Of course clearly including Celcius alongside Fahrenheit would make a lot of sense, I agree its strange that both were not included.
- elliottkember 6y ago> targeting an American audience What led you to believe this was targeting an American audience? Do you think kids in other countries don’t know about space, or aren’t interested?
- stult 6y agoI mean, NASA is an American government agency paid for with American tax dollars...
- atleta 6y agoFWIW, Celsius is just as convenient for human temperatures (whether we're talking about the temperature of the human body or temperatures that humans can experience). The difference in resolution (about 2x good for F) doesn't really matter. Trust me, we rarely use decimals with C, except for when we measure body temperature (which is in a few C/F range anyway). Other than that it's just remembering the important values (freezing and boiling point of water, normal body temp, and maybe a few others that you can associate with how much dress you'll need if you go outside). It's all about what you're used to, really.
- neilpanchal 6y agoI've switched to Celcius as an American since weather is mostly conveyed to me through the phone now-a-days. I've been using it for 2 years now and I am pretty well calibrated to California temperatures: 14C or lower, wear a jacket, 15-25C slightly chilly to pleasant, 25-35C is warm and hot. It indeed is just about getting used to it. Precision of Farenheit actually gets in the way, usually we don't really care if it is 41F or 42F. It's the same. Wear a jacket. I still can't get used to cm for measurement of everyday objects. Inches are just so easy for me. In terms of weight/volume, I use ml/liters for fluids and g/kg for weight everywhere I can.