Evaporation Study Guide

Definition:

Evaporation is the process by which a liquid, such as water, changes into a gas, such as water vapor, at a temperature below the boiling point of the liquid.

Factors affecting evaporation:

• Temperature: Higher temperatures increase the rate of evaporation as they provide more energy to the liquid molecules.
• Surface Area: A larger surface area leads to increased evaporation, as more molecules are exposed to the air.
• Humidity: Lower humidity levels promote faster evaporation, as the air can hold more water vapor.
• Wind: Air movement can carry away the water vapor from the liquid's surface, speeding up the evaporation process.

Applications of evaporation:

Evaporation is used in various industrial processes, such as the production of salt from seawater, the concentration of food products, and the recovery of solvents from chemical solutions.

Importance in the water cycle:

Evaporation is a key component of the water cycle, where water evaporates from the surface of oceans, lakes, and rivers, and then returns to the Earth as precipitation, completing the cycle.

Experiment:

You can conduct a simple experiment to observe evaporation by placing a shallow dish of water in a sunny location and recording the changes in the water level over time.