Question

What are the factors affecting evaporation?

Answer 1

Evaporation:

• Evaporation is the process of conversion of a liquid from its surface into a gaseous phase below its boiling point.
• This process happens in the presence of heat energy.

Factors affecting evaporation:

1. Temperature:

• On increasing the temperature the rate of evaporation also increases.
• At higher temperatures, the molecules are moving faster; therefore, it is more likely for a molecule to have enough energy to break away from the liquid to become a gas.

2. Wind speed:

• Wind speed and rate of evaporation are directly proportional to each other.
• As the wind speed increases, the rate of evaporation also increases.

3. Surface area:

• As the surface area increases, the rate of evaporation also increases.
• The more area is exposed to air, allowing water molecules to acquire more heat energy from the surroundings.

4. Humidity:

• Humidity and rate of evaporation are in inverse relation to each other.
• As the humidity decreases, the rate of evaporation increases.