To convert a Celsius temperature to Kelvin, what do you add?

To convert a Celsius temperature to Kelvin, what do you add?

• A. 273.15
• B. 100
• C. -273.15
• D. 32

Answer: (A)

To convert Celsius to Kelvin, you add 273.15 because the Kelvin scale is offset from Celsius by 273.15 degrees: 0 K corresponds to -273.15 °C. Since the size of a degree is the same in both scales, the conversion is simply K = C + 273.15. For example, 25°C becomes 298.15 K. The other numbers don’t apply here: 100 is the Celsius value at which water boils (not the offset to Kelvin), -273.15 would convert Kelvin to Celsius, and 32 is used in the Celsius-to-Fahrenheit conversion. So adding 273.15 is the correct operation.

To convert Celsius to Kelvin, you add 273.15 because the Kelvin scale is offset from Celsius by 273.15 degrees: 0 K corresponds to -273.15 °C. Since the size of a degree is the same in both scales, the conversion is simply K = C + 273.15. For example, 25°C becomes 298.15 K. The other numbers don’t apply here: 100 is the Celsius value at which water boils (not the offset to Kelvin), -273.15 would convert Kelvin to Celsius, and 32 is used in the Celsius-to-Fahrenheit conversion. So adding 273.15 is the correct operation.