« Return to AACT homepage

AACT Member-Only Content

You have to be an AACT member to access this content, but good news: anyone can join!


Need Help?

Temperature Guys Video Questions Mark as Favorite (34 Favorites)

ACTIVITY in Physical Properties, History, Measurements, Temperature, SI Units, Accuracy. Last updated January 29, 2024.


Summary

In this activity, students will watch a video and answer questions about how both the thermometer and the concept of temperature evolved over time.

Grade Level

Elementary, Middle, and High School

Objectives

By the end of this activity, students should be able to

  • Identify the three different temperature scales.
  • Explain the basic concept of how a thermometer works.
  • Distinguish between the temperature scales: Fahrenheit, Celsius and Kelvin.
  • Understand that temperature values can be converted from one unit to another.

Chemistry Topics

This activity supports students’ understanding of

  • Temperature
  • Measurements
  • SI units
  • Accuracy
  • Physical properties
  • History of Chemistry

Time

Teacher Preparation: minimal

Lesson: 10 minutes

Materials

Safety

  • No specific safety precautions need to be observed for this activity.

Teacher Notes

  • The Temperature Guys video was developed as a part of the AACT original video series, Founders of Chemistry. The entire series can be found here.
  • The running time of this video is five minutes and forty seconds.
  • This video is intended for students to watch, and for teachers to integrate into their curriculum.
  • The student questions/answers are presented in sequential order in the video.
  • An answer key has also been provided for teacher reference.
  • Videos can be shown with the use of a classroom projector, or teachers can generate a Student Pass through their AACT membership to allow students to independently access the video.

For the Student

Lesson

Instructions

While watching the Founders of Chemistry Video about the Temperature Guys, answer the following questions:

  1. Who are the “temperature guys”?
  2. When and where was the first thermometer created?
  3. What is the basic principle of the thermometer? (How does it work?)
  4. When was the first mercury thermometer introduced?
  5. What properties make mercury a good choice for use in a thermometer?
  6. What is the freezing point of water on the Fahrenheit scale? What is the boiling point of water on the Fahrenheit scale?
  7. What did Celsius discover that made the Fahrenheit scale not precise enough?
  8. What was the original name for the Celsius scale?
  9. What is the freezing point of water on the Celsius scale? Boiling point?
  10. What is “absolute zero”?
  11. What degrees Celsius is equal to 0 Kelvin?
  12. What is the freezing point of water on the Kelvin scale? What is the boiling point?