Temperature [ENDORSED]

[donnanguyen1d]

When does it matter or in what type of problems do we need to use either Kelvin or degrees Celsius? For example, problem chapter 8 #31 R= 8.314J/k.mol but the problem gives you the temperature in degrees celsius, do we need to convert the degrees celsius into kelvin to cancel out the temperature?

[Isita Tripathi 2E]

For that problem, since you are using the CHANGE in temperature, your answer will be the same whether you use celsius or kelvin. This is because 0 C = 273.15 K, so its just a transformation of the temperature scale.

[Andres Reynoso 1J]

Fortemperature changes, it doesn't matter if it is degrees Celsius or degrees Kelvin because the value of the difference would be the same (e.g. 1 C heats to 5 C = +4 C; 274.15 K heats to 278.15 K = +4 K). When using a formula that doesn't involve temperature change, where the other units indicate you should be using Kelvin, then you can convert Celsius to Kelvin (e.g. PV=nRT when R=8.314 J / mol. K)