Final answer:
The temperature decreased by 24° Fahrenheit degrees. To find this, we simply subtract the final temperature from the initial temperature (7° F - (-17° F) = 24° F). This is approximately equal to a 13.3° Celsius decrease when converted.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the temperature drops from 7° F to –17° F, we calculate the decrease by subtracting the final temperature from the initial temperature. Therefore, the decrease in temperature is:
Initial temperature - Final temperature = 7° F - (-17° F) = 7° F + 17° F = 24° F
This means that the temperature decreased by 24° Fahrenheit degrees. If we wanted to convert this change to Celsius, we would use the formula to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, which states that the change in temperature in Fahrenheit degrees is nine-fifths of the change in Celsius degrees:
Change in Celsius = (Change in Fahrenheit - 32) × (5/9) = 24° F × (5/9)
However, since we are dealing with a change in temperature, rather than a temperature value, we can directly convert the change using the ratio 5/9:
Change in Celsius = Change in Fahrenheit × (5/9) = 24° F × (5/9) ≈ 13.3° C
So, the temperature decreased by approximately 13.3° Celsius degrees.