Temperature is defined as which of the following?

• A. A measure of how hot or cold something is
• B. A measure of the humidity content
• C. A measure of the rate at which heat is added
• D. A measure of atmospheric pressure

Answer: (C)

Temperature tells you how hot or cold something is, based on the average kinetic energy of its molecules. It is not a measure of how much heat is being added (that’s the rate of heat transfer, or power), nor is it humidity (moisture content) or atmospheric pressure (weight of the air). So the definition that best fits is that temperature is a measure of how hot or cold something is.