Celsius the same as Kelvin?  [ENDORSED]


Moderators: Chem_Mod, Chem_Admin

MSkye Goldwater 2K
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 7:05 am

Celsius the same as Kelvin?

Postby MSkye Goldwater 2K » Thu Jan 11, 2018 8:09 am

Question number 8.25 states that there is a temperature rise of 7.32 C. Why is it that because the degree Celsius is the same size as the degree kelvin, “per C” is the same as “per K" ? Isn't it normally that to convert Celsius to Kelvin you have to add 273.15 ?

Deap Bhandal L1 S1J
Posts: 77
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 7:05 am
Been upvoted: 2 times

Re: Celsius the same as Kelvin?

Postby Deap Bhandal L1 S1J » Thu Jan 11, 2018 8:56 am

Yes, K and C have the same degree interval and to convert C to K you would add 273.15. In any equation I would recommend using K since that is SI. However in this case since the temp rises by 7.32 C; that means delta T is 7.32. If you converted to K and calculated delta T it would be the same since K and C have the same degree interval.

Remi Lathrop 1G
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 7:07 am

Re: Celsius the same as Kelvin?  [ENDORSED]

Postby Remi Lathrop 1G » Thu Jan 11, 2018 9:17 am

Like Deap mentioned, for this question all that matters is the delta T (change in temperature) not the actual units of temperature so you can use kelvin or celsius because the change in temperature will be the same regardless of which units you use.
For example the change between 35ºC and 20ºC would be the same as the change between 308 K and 293 K.

Nehal Banik
Posts: 64
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 3:00 am

Re: Celsius the same as Kelvin?

Postby Nehal Banik » Thu Jan 11, 2018 10:12 am

Not necessarily, the change is basically the same so it doesn't matter which unit you use. Only the individual units need be specified in this case. Since the equation uses the change in Temperature, or delta T it is merely the difference.

Amanda Wu 2C
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jul 22, 2017 3:00 am

Re: Celsius the same as Kelvin?

Postby Amanda Wu 2C » Thu Jan 11, 2018 10:28 am

As others have mentioned, whether your units are in Celsius or Kelvin, the change in the temperature, delta T would still equate to 7.32. This is because, even if you were to add 273.15 to the initial and final temperatures given in Celsius to convert them to Kelvin, both of the magnitudes of the temperatures would increase by 273.15, so the difference between the initial and final temperatures in Kelvin would still be the same as the difference between the initial and final temperatures that were given in Celsius.

Isaiah Little 1A 14B
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 7:05 am

Re: Celsius the same as Kelvin?

Postby Isaiah Little 1A 14B » Thu Jan 11, 2018 9:31 pm

A change in degrees Celsius would be equivalent to the change in degrees Kelvin.

Jessica Nunez 1I
Posts: 58
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 3:00 am

Re: Celsius the same as Kelvin?

Postby Jessica Nunez 1I » Thu Jan 11, 2018 9:53 pm

As mentioned, using one unit over the other does not matter because the change in temperature would be the same, but I would just stick to the units that are initially given.

Veritas Kim 2L
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 7:05 am

Re: Celsius the same as Kelvin?

Postby Veritas Kim 2L » Thu Jan 11, 2018 11:28 pm

Just as the others above have mentioned, "per degree Celsius" and "per Kelvin" are the same since it is just dealing with delta T (change in temperature). So you wouldn't necessarily have to convert Celsius to Kelvin by adding 273.15. You can also note that it is the same when calculating specific heat capacity and molar heat capacity. Even though specific heat capacity is denoted with Celsius, you can also use Kelvin instead (check out Example 8.3).

Emma Miltenberger 2I
Posts: 51
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2017 3:00 am

Re: Celsius the same as Kelvin?

Postby Emma Miltenberger 2I » Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:05 pm

In this case, you are only concerned with the change in temperature, not the actual temperatures themselves. Since the conversion between Celsius and Kelvin is additive, the change in temperature is the same, regardless of units. Therefore, it does not matter if you use Celsius or Kelvin. However, it is a good idea to be in the habit of using use Kelvin because this is the appropriate SI unit for temperature.

Grace Han 2K
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2016 3:00 am

Re: Celsius the same as Kelvin?

Postby Grace Han 2K » Fri Jan 12, 2018 3:08 pm

if you are using the change in temperature, the change is the same whether it is in Kelvin or Celsius,

For example, if Initial temp is 283 K and final temp is 293 K, then change in temp is 10 K.
Now if we change it to Celsius, then initial is 10 C and final is 20 C. The change in temp is 10 C.


Return to “Concepts & Calculations Using First Law of Thermodynamics”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests