Question

The temperature scale used in everyday life in most of the world except the United States is the ____ scale.

Short answer

The Celsius scale is the most commonly used temperature scale in everyday life in most parts of the world, except for the United States.

Step-by-step solution

Identifying temperature scales

There are three main temperature scales used worldwide: Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin. Out of these three, one is the most commonly used temperature scale in everyday life.

Excluding the United States

The United States primarily uses the Fahrenheit scale for its everyday temperature measurements. The goal is to determine the temperature scale used by most of the world.

Identifying the correct scale

Since the Fahrenheit scale is predominantly used in the United States, the other two options are Celsius and Kelvin. The Kelvin scale is primarily used in scientific settings, so the temperature scale used by most of the world in everyday life is the Celsius scale.

Answer

The Celsius scale is the most commonly used temperature scale in everyday life in most parts of the world, except for the United States.

Key concepts

Celsius scale

The Celsius scale, also known as the centigrade scale, is a temperature measurement system commonly used around the world, with the exception of the United States. It is named after Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius. On this scale, the freezing point of water is set at 0 degrees Celsius (\(0^\text{C}\)) and the boiling point at standard atmospheric pressure is 100 degrees Celsius (\(100^\text{C}\)).

The Celsius scale is used for everyday weather forecasts, cooking temperatures, and in the science industry throughout most countries. It offers a convenient way to measure temperatures due to the 100-degree difference between the fundamental states of water. Because of its intuitive nature and alignment with the metric system, which is based on powers of ten, the Celsius scale is part of the International System of Units (SI).

Fahrenheit scale

The Fahrenheit scale is the temperature scale most often used in the United States for daily applications, such as weather forecasts and domestic ovens. Developed by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in the 18th century, this scale places the freezing point of water at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (\(32^\text{F}\)) and the boiling point at 212 degrees Fahrenheit (\(212^\text{F}\)), at standard atmospheric pressure.

One notable reason for the scale's use is historical precedence in the US, contributing to its continued implementation. The Fahrenheit scale can offer more precise readings without decimal points due to the smaller interval between degree changes. However, when precise temperature measurements are required, especially in a scientific context, the US often resorts to the Celsius or Kelvin scales for consistency with international standards.

Kelvin scale

The Kelvin scale is distinct from the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales in that it is the absolute temperature scale used in the sciences. It was named after the British mathematician and physicist Lord Kelvin. A notable feature of the Kelvin scale is that it starts at absolute zero (\(0 \text{K}\)), which is theoretically the lowest possible temperature where all molecular motion ceases.

The Kelvin scale does not use degree symbols and increments are equivalent to those of the Celsius scale, meaning one Kelvin is the same temperature change as one degree Celsius. However, unlike Celsius or Fahrenheit, the Kelvin scale is used almost exclusively in scientific research and applications because it allows for calculations in thermodynamics and kinetic theory that are not possible with scales that use arbitrary zero points, like the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales.