Free Essay: Factors Affecting Rate of Evaporation

Evaporation occurs when liquids change to gaseous state, after applying heat. At this point, the molecules of the liquid in question absorb enough heat energy leading to change of state. This energy, which is responsible for the movement of molecules, is called kinetic energy. When you reduce the amount of heat on an evaporating liquid, condensation kicks off, to allow the gas to cool and get back to the liquid state. Continuous withdrawal of energy leads to the solidification as the gas passes from gas to liquid then solid state. This gives three states of the liquid at different temperatures. In this paper, we shall discuss some of the factors that affect evaporation.

Amount of water: Evaporation only happens when there is water. In most cases, evaporation rates are high in the presence of large water bodies like oceans. This means, there is likely to be higher evaporation levels in oceans compared to dry land. However, the availability of water depends on other factors for evaporation to take place. For example, temperature is essential in the presence of water. As the temperature increases, heat energy increases, leading to the absorption of heat and ultimate change of state to gas. Additionally, high temperatures increase the capacity of the atmosphere to hold water. Thus, there will be higher evaporation with increased temperatures.

Evaporation also depends on relative humidity. Humidity refers to the amount of moisture in the atmosphere. It is worth noting that some regions or climate seasons have high or moisture level in the atmosphere. This will directly affect evaporation. Generally, high rates of evaporation occur when the atmosphere is dry, implying low humidity. Best on this explanation, it is evident that evaporation rates are high during summer and daytime, as opposed to winter and nighttime.

Speed of wind: Evaporation depends on how fast or slow the wind is moving. When the speed is low, a thin layer, which is almost saturated forms above the earth surface. This reduces the vapor pressure between the air and the surface, leading to low evaporation. On the other hand, fast moving winds leads to turbulence in the air. There is high vapor pressure between the ground and the air when evaporated moisture moves upwards.

Evaporation area. Evaporation depends on how much water or liquid is exposed to the heat. This means the larger the surface are of the water, the higher the evaporation rate and vice versa. To experiment how this, you can compare two wet clothes. The first clothe that is well-spread in the sun will dry faster than that which is folded in open air. Another important factor is the composition of water. Rate of evaporation is always high in fresh water as compared to salty water. Based on this, fresh water bodies experience 5 times higher evaporation rates than oceans. Salt in water acts as impurities, which increase the boiling point of water. This means, water with high salt concentration will take longer to evaporate than that which is free from impurities.

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