To convert Celsius to Kelvin, you add what value?

To convert Celsius to Kelvin, you add what value?

• A. 273.
• B. 32.
• C. 0.
• D. 100.

Answer: (A)

To convert Celsius to Kelvin you add an offset because Kelvin uses absolute zero as its zero point. Absolute zero is −273.15 °C, so the exact relationship is Kelvin = Celsius + 273.15. In many practice problems an integer offset of 273 is used as a convenient approximation, which is why adding 273 gives a close Kelvin value for most purposes. The number 32 comes from the Fahrenheit scale, used in the formula to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, not to Kelvin. The values 0 and 100 are the freezing and boiling points of water on the Celsius scale, but they don’t set the offset to Kelvin.

To convert Celsius to Kelvin you add an offset because Kelvin uses absolute zero as its zero point. Absolute zero is −273.15 °C, so the exact relationship is Kelvin = Celsius + 273.15. In many practice problems an integer offset of 273 is used as a convenient approximation, which is why adding 273 gives a close Kelvin value for most purposes.

The number 32 comes from the Fahrenheit scale, used in the formula to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, not to Kelvin. The values 0 and 100 are the freezing and boiling points of water on the Celsius scale, but they don’t set the offset to Kelvin.