Earth Science Question -evaporation?

J

Jj Hh

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I had this question on a test and I don't understand why that's the answer could u please explain!
Q= Which of the following conditions will increase the rate of evaporation at the surface of a body of water?

Answer= Drier air above water


Why? thanks!!
 
water has to have somewhere to evaporate to. think of a pond and if it is so wet outside that is is nearly raining, water is not going to evapoate quickly or think of the desert where the air is very dry and the pond evaporates faster.
 
Evaporation is the process of water changing from the liquid to vapor state. If the air is already saturated with water (extremely moist air), when more water evaporates some of the water that is already in the air condenses (goes from vapor to liquid). So there is no net evaporation.

But, if the air is far from being saturated, it can hold a lot of water. The body of water just keeps evaporating. The drier the air, the more water can evaporate. (Until the air is saturated.)
 
When there are water molecules in the air, they actually randomly bounce off the surface of the body of water; this is called vapor pressure. These airborne water molecules actually force some of the evaporating water molecules to stay in the body of water. If the air is dry, there are no water molecules in the air, and the water can evaporate easily.
 
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