In a zoo one of the information plaques said that the South Pole is "twice as cold" as the North Pole. What exactly is "twice as cold"?
Does it mean half as hot, so that the temperature in Kelvin is half? Does it mean twice as far away from some arbitrary temperature that defines where cold begins?
From what I've found, the temperature around the North Pole seems to average about 1 F / -17 C / 256 K while at the South Pole it averages -63 F / -53 C / 220 K.
2007-11-01 12:35:02 · 4 answers · asked by Amy W 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
I'm guessing the zoo probably wasn't all that concerned with being 100% accurate. They probably just wanted to get the point across that it's colder.
2007-11-01 13:00:28 · answer #1 · answered by Milo 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Temperature is measured by degrees in one of several different systems, Farenheit, Centigrade/Celsius or Kelvin. If the temperate at the North Pole is 15 degrees Farenheit, and the South Pole is 'twice as cold' it would be necessary to know what 'cold' was to agree or disagree. If 'cold' is defined as 32 degrees Farenheit aka 'freezing' then 15 F is 17 degrees F below freezing and 2 F would be twice as cold. I think
2007-11-01 20:01:43 · answer #2 · answered by losingmymind2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is an idiom, a phrase which has a meaning that isn't exactly what the words say.
2007-11-01 22:48:51 · answer #3 · answered by Howard H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it means it is twice as cold in temperatures .
2007-11-01 19:53:04 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋