To convert 20 degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit, which operation is first?

To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, the first step involves multiplying the Celsius temperature by ( \frac{9}{5} ). This step scales the Celsius value based on the ratio of the temperature increment between the two scales.

Once this multiplication is done, you then need to adjust for the offset between the two temperature scales by adding 32 to the product obtained. This overall formula for conversion is:

[ F = C \times \frac{9}{5} + 32 ]

In this formula, ( C ) is the temperature in Celsius, and ( F ) is the temperature in Fahrenheit.

Starting the conversion process with the multiplication corrects for the different scaling factors between the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales, ensuring that the final calculated value is accurate. Without performing this multiplication first, the conversion would not yield the correct Fahrenheit equivalent.