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Evaporation

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Water evaporating
A simple picture explaining the evaporation of water, though in real life you can not see the water, but only steam

Evaporation is when a liquid becomes a gas. When the molecules in a liquid are heated, they move faster. This makes them full of energy and so the particles collide with each other, and eventually they become so far apart that they become a gas.

For example, a water left in a bowl will slowly disappear. The water evaporates into water vapor, the gas phase of water. The water vapor mixes with the air.

Evaporation is a type of phase change in which matter changes from a liquid to a gas. Some liquids evaporate more quickly than others. Liquid with high boiling points (those that boil at very high temperatures) tend to evaporate more slowly than those with lower boiling temperatures.[1]

Water boils at around 100 degrees Celsius.(Boiling Point Of Water) There are many factors that affect the evaporation rate. Different liquids evaporate at different temperatures. For example, aluminum evaporates at 87 degrees Celsius. When water is evaporating, it transforms into a gas called water vapor. The reverse of evaporation is condensation.

Evaporation is a very essential part of the water cycle. When water is boiling in a closed container, sometimes evaporation happens at the same time as condensation.

Process in nature[edit | edit source]

Evaporation is vital in nature and is always the same as temperature and vapor pressure in nature. This means that if there is a lot of evaporation, the temperature goes down. Alternatively, if there is hardly any evaporation, there will be a temperature increase.

The rate of evaporation are affected by the liquid's exposed surface area (faster when increased), the humidity of surroundings (slower when increased), the presence of wind (faster when increased) and the temperature (faster when increased).

Sources[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Learn Science intermediate, grades 5 to 6 by Mike Evans and Amy Candler