Condensation

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/condensation

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the thermodynamic nature?Exothermic phase transition from gas to liquid
2. What is the key atmospheric role?Formation of clouds and precipitation
3. Why does water form droplets on a cold glass?The glass cools the air around it, so the water vapor in the air reaches its saturation point and turns into liquid droplets.
4. How does condensation help make clouds?When warm moist air rises and cools, the water vapor condenses onto tiny particles, forming cloud droplets that can grow into rain.

Adiabatic Cooling: Cooling of a gas or air parcel as it expands without exchanging heat with its surroundings.
Dew Point: The temperature at which air becomes saturated with water vapor and condensation begins.
Condensation Nuclei: Microscopic particles in the atmosphere that serve as surfaces for water vapor to condense upon.
Latent Heat of Vaporization: The amount of energy required to change a substance from a liquid to a gas at a constant temperature.