Measuring temperature with a thermometer
Physics · Key Stage 1 · The School
Why touch can trick you
Touch a metal spoon. Touch a wooden spoon next to it. Both have been in the same room all day. The metal one feels cold. The wood feels less cold. But they are the SAME temperature. Metal just moves heat away from your hand fast. Touch can trick you.
Reading a thermometer
A thermometer has a scale. The scale has numbers on it. Find where the line stops. Look at it straight on, not from an angle. Read the number. That number is real. It is the same for everyone who reads it right.
Checking the seasons with numbers
Check the number outside at the same time each day. Do this for a whole year. Write each number down. In winter the numbers stay low. In summer the numbers climb high. Now you have real proof of the seasons. Not just a feeling.
A year of numbers at noon
Check the number outside every day at noon, for a whole year. In January it is about 5. In April it is about 12. In July it is about 22. In October it is about 13. Put the four numbers in order. They go up. They reach the top in summer. Then they go back down. That smooth pattern is real proof of the seasons changing. It comes from real numbers, not from how one day felt.
Numbers beat a guess
Two people can disagree about a day. One says it feels warm. One says it feels cool. Two thermometers will not disagree. They give the exact same number. That is why real records use a number. Not a feeling. That is worth trusting.