98 Fun Facts About Evaporation To Teach Your Kids

Various processes take place around us in nature.

Some of these processes are evident, while others are often missed even if they continuously occur in front of our eyes. Evaporation is one such process that is an ongoing natural process essential for the functioning of nature.

Not only does evaporation take place in the outside world, but there are also instances of it taking place even in our homes. For example, when you boil water to make some tea or boil water to soften the noodles, evaporation and condensation take place.

Evaporation is one of the most important scientific processes that take place around us. As a matter of fact, life on Earth would not be the same if the process of evaporation stopped taking place.

Along with the processes of condensation and precipitation, evaporation plays a crucial role in the water cycle on Earth. When the sun rays hit the surface of a water body, the water evaporates in the form of water vapor and reaches the atmosphere.

When the temperature cools down, the water vapor combines with dust and different materials in the atmosphere to form clouds.

When these clubs hit each other, it produces lightning, and when the clouds become too heavy to hold the water, rainfall takes place through the process known as precipitations. This rainfall performs a crucial role in supporting life on Earth.

Rainfall is one of the best sources of fresh water on Earth. Rain replenishes the water table on Earth, and it helps with the irrigation of fields.

Rainfall increases the water level in ponds and lakes, providing a source of drinking water for the animals. We often do not notice many more essential functions of the water cycle initiated by evaporation.

Whether inside our homes or factories, evaporation is used in various daily operations. For example, to manufacture salt, salty water is collected in an evaporation pond where the sunlight evaporates the water leaving the salt behind.

Afterward, also check out Solids, liquids and gases made easy and How to keep your kids cool around the house in summer.

What is evaporation?

All science students know the importance of evaporation, but many of us are still unsure about its various aspects. Read on for some important facts related to the process of evaporation: -

Evaporation always takes place on the surface of a liquid, such as water, as it transforms into a gas phase. When the liquid reaches boiling point, heat energy is released, and evaporation occurs.

Understanding what evaporation is requires observing temperatures as the liquid phase changes. The liquid water turns into a gas phase as the temperature of the water reaches the boiling point.

Evaporation is a process that takes place across the globe, and it is the same everywhere. The change in the state of liquid occurs because of temperature changes.

While in the liquid state, the water molecules move freely by staying close to each other.

However, as the evaporation process takes place, the water molecules move more freely and have large spaces among them. The water vapor formed through the evaporation process as the water reaches a higher temperature can be seen by covering the vessel with a lid and then seeing the inner portions of that lid.

The tiny droplets of water present on the lid's inner layer are the water vapor produced from evaporation. This process of the gas phase changing back to its liquid phase is called condensation. Both evaporation and condensation are essential processes of nature.

The evaporation process occurs only when the water is about to reach or already at boiling point. The rate of evaporation largely depends on the temperature of the water. The phase change is a natural phenomenon and takes place only when the right conditions are present.

Examples Of Evaporation

Are you intrigued about the process of evaporation and want to know about some real-life examples of this process? Then here are some practical examples of evaporation for your perusal.

Examples of evaporation are present all around us. For example, on a rainy day, the roads are filled with puddles. If the next day turns out to be a sunny one, all the puddles tend to disappear quickly. This happens due to the process of evaporation.

As the heat energy reaches the water puddles, the water vapor starts forming, and evaporation takes place. Within a few minutes or hours, depending on the heat energy available and the amount of water present in the puddle, all the water gets evaporated, and the road is found to be dry again.

Nail polish remover will also evaporate if it is left open when not in use.

You might have seen that if you someday leave the lid open by accident, the next time you go to use the nail polish remover, you are likely to find the bottle half empty or entirely empty without any trace of that liquid anywhere.

Even when you sweat after an exercise or because of hot weather and humidity, the sweat does not stay on your body for long.

It evaporates into the atmosphere, leaving behind a cooling effect, which is one of the mechanisms your body uses to help you maintain an optimal body temperature.

Other everyday examples include the drying of washed clothes. When clothes are hung outside on a hot sunny day, they tend to dry much quicker than the clothes hung out on a cold winter day. This too happens because of evaporation. The evaporation occurs as the water molecules with the highest kinetic energy move away.

On a hot sunny day, water will evaporate faster. Another superb example is the way the salt we eat is prepared. The gaseous and liquid phase plays a vital role in the salt collection.

Liquid water from seas is trapped into sandpits. As evaporation occurs, the water molecules rise and change into gas, leaving behind salt inside the sandpit.

This process helps to separate salt from seawater with the help of solar energy. Other examples include drying wet hair with a hairdryer. The heat energy from the hairdryer enables the water present in your hair to evaporate by changing the phase of water molecules into gas.

You might have often wondered why your mother prefers to iron damp clothes or why there is a spray option in most irons. This is because as the hot surface of the iron touches the damp cloth, the water in the cloth evaporates, leaving behind a wrinkle-free surface.

Another example is how a hot beverage such as tea or coffee becomes cold after some time.

The heat transforms some of the liquid into vapor and evaporates while leaving the rest of the liquid relatively cold and good to drink. Do you know why the pressure cooker makes a loud hissing noise?

As the water inside the pressure cooker reaches boiling point, pressure is built inside because of evaporation. The water vapor then comes out of the whistle, making a loud sound while moving outside.

Evaporation And Condensation

Understanding evaporation is not possible without discussing the process of condensation along with. Here are some comparative details to help you understand the process a bit better.

The most notable instance of the process of evaporation and condensation is the water cycle. Both these processes play vital roles in maintaining fresh water on Earth and ensuring the formation of clouds and rainfall. Evaporation takes place from seawater, rivers, lakes, and even ponds.

Water from all these sources evaporates as there is an increase in heat energy. The kinetic energy released within the water molecules enables the liquid to change phase.

Water from the rivers, lakes, and ponds turns into water vapor as it evaporates. In the water cycle, the vapor pressure raises the water molecules with the highest kinetic energy towards the sky to form clouds. As more and more water vapors travel towards the sky, they condense as they reach a certain height.

This is because the temperature towards the sky decreases. Due to this fall in temperature, the vapor condenses to form clouds. When enough water vapor accumulates and condenses, making the cloud heavy, rainfall occurs.

Water from the rain fills the seawater, lakes, rivers, and evaporative ponds, thus completing the water cycle. Without proper functioning of the water cycle, there will be no rains, and crops and human life will eventually suffer from a lack of freshwater availability.

Thus, in the water cycle, the sun heats the water enough to cause it to evaporate. Evaporating water travels high up into the sky.

As the temperature falls, evaporative cooling starts to take place, and the gaseous state turns back to water molecules. This is how water from the evaporation ponds, lakes, and rivers form clouds.

This suggests that the process of the water cycle consists mainly of three components. These components function independently of each other in our everyday lives but are interrelated when it comes to the completion of the water cycle.

These include evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. While evaporation occurs by transferring water molecules into vapor and reducing the water on Earth, rainfall ensures that the condensed water falls back on Earth and fills the rivers and lakes.

Interestingly, this water vapor that forms after evaporating water is an essential component of greenhouse gases. Water vapor along with carbon dioxide helps to keep the Earth's temperature warm and prevents its freezing.

This lesser-known function of water vapor is very vital for the existence of life as we know it. Fog and mist suspended in the air also contribute to the water cycle.

Heat energy is essential for the process of evaporation to take place. The heat separates the water molecules and makes them loose and easy to move around. The primary mechanism in this process is the change of states of water.

This mechanism is what makes the whole water cycle exist and be successful. Water evaporates faster when the heat is intense. As the molecules travel towards the sky, they determine the moisture present in the air.

Both humidity and moisture levels of a place are affected by evaporating water. Relative humidity and the rate of evaporation all depend on the kind of climate a place has and the amount of heat generated by the sun in that location.

The relative humidity is said to be at 100% when the rate of evaporation in an area is the same as the rate of condensation in that area.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for evaporation, then why not take a look at some more facts such as Solids, liquids, and gases made easy, or How to keep your kids cool around the house in summer?