Relative Humidity and Dew Point

Lab _________

Name _______________

Part 1: Relative Humidity

Latent heat of evaporation is a part of our daily lives. Every time you get out of
the shower and experience the chill that follows, is an example of evaporation and the
energy exchanges necessary for water to change state. The moisture evaporating from
your skin uses the heat energy from your body to change state from a liquid to a gas.
Relative humidity of the air directly affects the rate of evaporation. On a winter day
when the air has a much lower volume of water vapor in it, you will experience a greater
chill than on a humid summer day, even if the temperature in the house is the same. This
principle can be used to determine the humidity in the atmosphere by using a sling
psychrometer and comparing the wet and dry bulb temperatures.
On hot, humid summer days there is an abundance of water vapor in the air. The
amount of water vapor the air can hold depends upon the temperature of the air, in that
warm air can hold more water vapor than cold air. When warm humid air rises, it
expands and begins to cool adiabatically. This drop in temperature causes the relative
humidity to increase. If saturation occurs and there are condensation nuclei present,
water vapor will begin to condense, forming clouds.
The dew point temperature is a way to measure the amount of water vapor in the
atmosphere. The dew point is the temperature at which water droplets first begin to form
on a cool clean surface, or on condensation nuclei in the atmosphere. If the air is
saturated, this means that the air temperature and the dew point are one in the same. This
is stated as 100% humidity.

Objectives: Calculate relative humidity from data collected with a sling psychrometer.
Use the dew point table to convert the wet bulb depression and air temperature values to
dew point temperature. Relate dew point to relative humidity.

Materials

Water
Sling Psychrometer
Text book

Procedure
1. Measure and record the temperature inside the room by using the sling
psychrometer. Sling it until your temperature reading is precise.
2. Wet the muslin of the psychrometer with water. Sling the psychrometer over your
head for one minute. Be sure you are aware of what and who is around you
before hand.

3. After one minute, read the wet bulb temperature. Spin the psychrometer around
for another thirty seconds, and again check the wet bulb temperature. If the
temperature has changed, continue to spin until a constant temperature is reached.
Record this temperature on your data table.
4. Repeat this procedure 3 times.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 outside.

6. Determine the relative humidity and dewpoint values for inside and out by using
the tables in your text book.

Data Table

Questions
1. Compare the relative humidities inside and out. Write a general statement
expressing any similarities or differences.
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2. Why did you sling the psychrometer until you had a constant temperature on the
wet and dry bulbs?
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3. If the air temperature increased and the amount of water vapor were to remain
constant, what would happen to the wet-bulb temperature? Does this mean the
relative humidity would increase or decrease?
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4. Explain why the air in the winter seems so dry (inside and outside) compared to
the air in the summer. What can we do to overcome these uncomfortable
extremes?_________________________________________________________
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5. Describe other processes observed in your daily lives where latent heat of
evaporation can be observed.
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6.

When air rises it cools 1 degree Celsius for every 100 meters. At what height
would the air in the room begin to condense to form clouds? Show all of the
work.

7. Repeat #6 for the outside air. Are any clouds visible at this height?

8. What conditions and/or situation(s) would be necessary for water vapor to

condense on to your skin? (remember: what is skin
temperature?)______________________________________________________
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9. What effect does condensation have on the contents of a cold can on a hot day?
When will the condensation begin to evaporate?
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10. What is meant by the term saturation? Under what conditions does the air
become saturated?
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Conclusions:
Based on your observations in this lab (or your own experiences), write a statement
relating Dew Point, Relative Humidity, and Temperature.