Free convection along both sides of a vertical flat plate is studied within (tie framework of the laminar boundary-layer theory and for the case where only the temperature of the fluid far away from the wall is prescribed Corrections to the Pohlhausen solution for the temperature at the plate Surface are calculated It is found that for good thermal conductors, the corrections are small (within a few percent), while for poor thermal conductors the corrections may be Substantial (similar to 30% for a wall with conductivity similar to brick) In addition, expressions for the heat transfer coefficient h as well as for the Nusselt number are derived and the corresponding convective heat transfer rate is determined. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.