Fahrenheit Celsius Equation Derivation page 1 of 6

William Greco Dec. 19, 2009

2404 Greensward N.
Warrington, Pa. 18976
w2gre@verizon.net

Introduction (Executive Summary)

One of the most common linear relationships found in everyday situations deals with
temperature. Recall that water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and 0 degrees Celsius,
while it boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 degrees Celsius.
The equation is very familiar to most people, however the derivation of this
equation is not well known.
The ordered pairs (100,212) and (0,32) are shown in figure-1 on axes showing
Fahrenheit as a function of Celsius.

The Derivation

(100,212)-(0,32)

Slope is equal to the change in y over the change in x, or 'rise over run'.
change in y
m
change in x
The change in x is equal to the difference in x-coordinates (also called run), and the
change in y is equal to the difference in y-coordinates (also called rise).
y2  y1
m
x2  x1
Substitute in the values of x and y into the equation to find the slope.
32  212
m
0  100
 Fahrenheit Celsius Equation Derivation page 2 of 6
William Greco Dec. 19, 2009
2404 Greensward N.
Warrington, Pa. 18976
w2gre@verizon.net

Combine all similar expressions.

32  212
m
100

Multiply -1 by the 212

 32  212 
m   
 100 
Subtract 212 from 32 to get -180.
 180 
m   
 100 

180
Reduce the expression by removing a factor of 20 from the numerator and
100
denominator.
9
m   
5

Multiply -1 by the (9)/(5) inside the parentheses.

 9
m   
 5
9
Multiply -1 by the  inside the parentheses.
5
9
m
5
After finding the slope between the points, use point-slope form to setup the equation.
Point-slope is derived from the equation for slope m 
y2  y1
x2  x1
y  212  95 x  100 

Remove the parentheses around the expression y  212 

9
y  212  
5
x  100
 Fahrenheit Celsius Equation Derivation page 3 of 6
William Greco Dec. 19, 2009
2404 Greensward N.
Warrington, Pa. 18976
w2gre@verizon.net

Multiply -1 by the 100 inside the parentheses.

9 x  100 
y  212  
5
Multiply -1 by the 212 inside the parentheses.
9 x  100 
y  212 
5
Since -212 does not contain the variable to solve for, move it to the right-hand side of the
equation by adding 212 to both sides.
9 x  100 
y  212 
5
Simplify the right-hand side of the equation.
9 x  100 
212 
5
Multiply each term by a factor of 1 that will equate all the denominators. In this case, all
terms need a denominator of 5.
 5  9 x  100 
212   
5 5
Multiply the expression by a factor of 1 to create the least common denominator (LCD)
of 5.
212 5  9 x  100 

5 5
Multiply 212 by 5 to get 1060.
1060 9 x  100 

5 5

The numerators of expressions that have equal denominators can be combined. In this
1060 9 x  100 
case, and have the same denominator of 5, so the numerators can be
5 5
combined.
1060 9 x  100 
5
Simplify the numerator of the expression.
1060  9x  900
5
 Fahrenheit Celsius Equation Derivation page 4 of 6
William Greco Dec. 19, 2009
2404 Greensward N.
Warrington, Pa. 18976
w2gre@verizon.net

Subtract 900 from 1060 to get 160.

160  9x
5
Reorder the polynomial 160+9x alphabetically from left to right, starting with the highest
order term.
9x  160
5
After finding the slope between the points, use point-slope form to setup the equation.

Point-slope is derived from the equation for slope m 

y2  y1
x2  x1
y  32  95 x  0 
Remove the parentheses around the expression y-(32).
9
y  32   x  0 
5
Multiply -1 by the 0 inside the parentheses.
9 x  0 
y  32  
5
Remove the 0 from the polynomial; adding or subtracting 0 does not change the value of
the expression.
9 x 
y  32  
5
Multiply 9 by x in the numerator.
9x
y  32  
5
Multiply -1 by the 32 inside the parentheses.
9x
y  32 
5
Since -32 does not contain the variable to solve for, move it to the right-hand side of the
equation by adding 32 to both sides.
9x
y  32 
5
Move all terms not containing y to the right-hand side of the equation.
9x
y  32
5
 Fahrenheit Celsius Equation Derivation page 5 of 6
William Greco Dec. 19, 2009
2404 Greensward N.
Warrington, Pa. 18976
w2gre@verizon.net

The two possible equations in point slope form are

y
9x  160 and y  9x  32
5 5

Fahrenheit 
9 Celsius   160  and Fahrenheit  9 Celsius   32
5 5
Re-arrangement to solve for Celsius :

y
9x  160 
5
Since x is on the right-hand side of the equation, switch the sides so it is on the left-hand
side of the equation.
9x  160   y
5
Multiply each term in the equation by 5.
9x  160  5  y 5

5
Simplify the left-hand side of the equation by canceling the common factors.
9x  160   y 5
Multiply y by 5 to get 5y.
9x  160  5y
Since 160 does not contain the variable to solve for, move it to the right-hand side of the
equation by subtracting 160 from both sides.
9x  160  5y
Move all terms not containing x to the right-hand side of the equation.
9x  5y  160
Divide each term in the equation by 9.
9x 5y 160
 
9 9 9
Simplify the left-hand side of the equation by canceling the common factors.
9 x 5y 160 5y 160
  x 
9 9 9 9 9
 Fahrenheit Celsius Equation Derivation page 6 of 6
William Greco Dec. 22, 2009
2404 Greensward N.
Warrington, Pa. 18976
w2gre@verizon.net

Simplify the right-hand side of the equation by simplifying each term.

5y 160
x 
9 9
Combine the numerators of all expressions that have common denominators.
5y  160
9
Factor out the GCF of 5 from each term in the polynomial.
5y  5 32 
9
Factor out the GCF of 5 from 5y-160.
5 y  32 
9
5 y  32 
x
9

5 Fahrenheit  32
Celsius 
9