thermometer

Everyday

1. A thermometer is an instrument that measures temperature — how hot or cold something is. tree →
2. A medical thermometer measures body temperature to check for a fever. tree →

In the lessons

In science, pupils read thermometers in degrees Celsius (°C) (or Fahrenheit °F in the USA), measure water, air and ice, and draw line graphs of temperature over time; reading the scale between the marked lines is a maths skill. In everyday life and health, a normal body temperature is about 37 °C (98.6 °F); 38 °C or more is a fever. Kinds: liquid (alcohol) thermometers, digital thermometers, ear thermometers, oven and meat thermometers. Phrases: read the thermometer, the thermometer shows, digital thermometer.

Examples

• The thermometer showed 25 °C in the classroom. tree →
• Mum used a thermometer to check if I had a fever. tree →
• Put the thermometer in the ice water and wait a minute. tree →
• The red liquid in the thermometer rises when it gets warmer. tree →
• Water boils at 100 °C on the thermometer at sea level. tree →
• Our class thermometer outside the window read minus 3 degrees. tree →
• Read the scale at eye level for an accurate reading. tree →
• Then, when it was so cold that it could not manage to be any colder without breaking the thermometer, it stopped. tree →

Note

Spelling: thermo-meter («thermo» = heat, «meter» = measure). Maths: count the steps between marked lines — if lines go 0, 10, 20 with 5 small marks between, each mark is 2 degrees. Negative numbers on a thermometer are below zero (freezing). Old mercury thermometers are dangerous if broken — tell an adult, do not touch.