Period+7+Group+5

Response to Investigation 6 Essential Question(s)**
 * Period 7 Group 5

You can determine water vapor is in the air by evaporation and condensation. Water vapor gets in the air by evaporation. I know this because of the water in the air lab with plastics cups. We also watched two videos about exploring heat. What we learned when we did the water in the air lab with plastic cups is that condensation formed on the side of it because the water vapor in the air reached dew point. It reached dewpoint when the air cooled and became fully saturated.To get water in the air the suns energy hits water it moves more rapidly causing more molecular motion. When the molecular motion reaches a certain level the water turns into water vapor through a process called evaporation. The molecules are now moving faster and it is now an invisable gas in the air.
 * How can we determine that water vapor is in the air and how does it get there? What is humidity and what is dew point and how are each measured? How do clouds and dew form?**

Humidity is the amount of water vapor that is in the air. Dew point is the temperature at which air becomes saturation or the temperature when saturation occurs. Humidity is measured in percent and is measured by a hygrometer. Dew point is measured in degrees fahrenheit and is measured by a thermometer. I know that humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air and how it's measured becasue of the notes I took in class and the Dragon Breath article. I know that dew point is the temperature at which air becomes saturated and how it's measured because of the Dragons Breath article. If there is more water evaporated into the air the humidity goes up. If condensation happens that means that the air was saturated and it was 100 % humid and all that humidity was released. The humidity therefore goes down. The higher the humidity the less comfortable the air is. The lower the humidity the more comfortable it is. The humidity can't get too low though. 50 % is the comfort range. Dew point is never the same. This is because the tempersture of the air can always be different. If the air is hotter, it can hold more water vapor than colder air can. This means that it will take a longer time for the air to reach saturation and dew point. If the air is colder the molecules are closer together which means that it will hold less water vapor. This means that the cold air will saturate quicker than the hot air and reach dew point faster. When the temperature reaches dew point the water vapor condenses on a surface or particles. Clouds would be an example of the water vapor condensing onto particles. If the air teamperature is colder than or is the dew point water vapor will condense. If it is warmer the water vapor will saty in the air until it becomes saturated.

Clouds are formed when water vapor that is in the air condense on to condensation nuceli(smoke or dust particles).I know this form the clouds and precipation lab, the Dragon's Breath article,as welll as the Observing Clouds article. The whole process starts when water on the earth's surface gains enough molecular motion form the energy source the sun and then evaporates through evaporation. Next that air will rise do to lower pressure at the higher altitdudes. When the air rises the temperature will slowly begin to drop and if it drops enough and it's collest temperature it will reach dew point. Dew point is the temperature at which the air has become fully saturated. Since it can no longer hold any more water vapor it will begin to condense on to the condensation nuceli which are small smoke or dust particles. These condensation nuceli will form with other condensation nuceli to form a cloud that we can see in the sky or at higher altitudes. =Dew is formed at lower altitudes when water vapor from the air condense on to a cooler surface such as grass. I know this from the clouds and precipatation lab along with the Dragon's Breath article. The process of dew formation starts when water on the earth's surface gains enough energy from the sun to evaporate. Once it has been evaporated it will be in the air near a cool surface. When near this cooler surface the temperature will drop and that surronding air will reach dew point and then be 100% saturated. Now it will condense on to the cooler surface of the grass now you have dew that has formed on the grass. The dew is actualy a thin layer of tiny drops of water that forms on things such as grass.=