Unit 30

Thermometers

Basic Principles of Reading Thermometers

• Thermometers are used in many health occupations. – A major use is to record body temperature.

• Many thermometers are electronic or digital. They are easy to read because the body temperature appears on a screen, similar to the way numbers appear on a calculator screen.

Basic Principles of Reading Thermometers

• Some thermometers are not electronic.

• A common example is the clinical thermometer. – This consists of a column of mercury or alcohol

inside a glass stem.

– Body heat causes the mercury or alcohol to expand and move up the stem so the temperature can be recorded.

Basic Principles of Reading Thermometers

• On some thermometers, there is an arrow or long line by 98.6°F (degrees Fahrenheit), which is the normal oral body temperature.

• Some health care facilities use Celsius (Centigrade) thermometers to record temperature.

Thermometers

• Example: On a Celsius thermometer as shown on the next slide, if each long line represents 1 degree and each small line represents 0.1 (one-tenth) degree, what is the correct reading for Example 4?– The arrow is on the eighth line past the long

unmarked line representing 38 degrees. The reading is 38.8°C.

Thermometers

• Celsius thermometer.

Practical Problem

• Using the Fahrenheit thermometer below, if the thermometer stops three lines after the number 2, what is the correct reading?

Practical Problem

• The correct reading of the thermometer would be 102.6°F.