If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?

Answer 1

So cold you say, "OO!"

Answer 2

One of the problems here is that you can't use the expression "twice as" to mean "less" of anything. Take "twice as small" as an example. If twice means two times the quantity of something, what is the quantity of smallness ? By bigness we mean how far from zero. But being small is not being negatively large is it? It's just being less big.So we can attach a number to size, double it and there you are - twice as big.Likewise if it's 2degrees outside today, that's how hot it is not how cold, so twice that and it's hotter(4 degrees)
So should we say "half as hot" not "twice as cold"?
Well it would be better generally, but in the case where the number we have attached to how hot it is today happens to be zero we can't use that formulation because a half of zero is still zero, and the expression is meaningless in that case. We just have to remember that there will be cases where some semingly well-formed mathematical statements are not valid. And such cases often involve zero or negative numbers.
Another problem is that the zero of the Centigrade scale does not represent no temperature - it just denotes the freezing point of water. Zero Centigrade is still a couple of hundred degrees above the zero of the Kelvin scale of temperature, and if the temperature tomorrow is going to be half way between today's temperature (on the Kelvin Scale) and Absolute Zero, we have much more to worry about than the meaning of a few words.

Answer 3

If you are meaning zero in either farenheit or centigrade, you can't use the expression "twice as cold" because farenheit and centigrade are interval, not ratio scales. Interval scales have no natural zero and it is therefore meaningless to talk in terms of multiples.

Some scales of measurement have a natural zero and some do not. For example, height, weight etc have a natural 0 at no height or no weight. Consequently, it makes sense to say that 2m is twice as large as 1m. Both of these variables are ratio scale.

On the other hand, year and temperature (C) do not have a natural zero. The year 0 is arbitrary and it is not sensible to say that the year 2000 is twice as old as the year 1000. Similarly, 0C is arbitary (why pick the freezing point of water?) and it again does not make sense to say that 20C is twice as hot as 10C. Both of these variables are interval scale.

Kelvin however is a ratio variable, as there is a natural zero, but twice 0 is still 0 (plus the point of 0 kelvin is that it is the coldest temperature possible).

Answer 4

0 0

Answer 5

because multiplication by or of zero = zero, you may pick any non-zero negative number and multiply it times 2. no matter what negative number you use the resulting neg. no. will be correct.as an "inequality"

{ such that x is included in the set or numbers equal to or less than 0.}

Answer 6

If its zero degrees kelvin it cant be twice as cold tomorrow
or just "00"

Answer 7

If its zero degrees kelvin it cant be twice as cold tomorrow.

Answer 8

It depends what temperature today is 1x colder than since cold in this sense is a relative term.

Answer 9

Meaningless question as temperature is relative to absolute zero

Answer 10

O I expect but it all depends on what you compairing it to if itsd to 20 degress then minuse 20 or 10 degrees which is cold enough then - 10.

Answer 11

-136.6 C. This is based upon this being halfway between 0 degress C and absolute zero -273 degrees C.