GEG 111 Harper Exam Two Questions With
Verified Answers.
Properties of water - answer✔• Exists as a liquid at most places on Earth's surface
• Expands when it freezes; which is important in the weathering of rock
• Hydrogen bonding creates surface tension, a "skin" of molecules giving water a stickiness
quality - surface tension
• Capillarity; water can "climb" up narrow openings. This is important to the movement of
groundwater.
• Good solvent; water dissolves most substances
• High specific heat; it takes a relatively high amount of energy to raise the temperature of
water.
Phase Changes and Heat Exchange - answer✔Water absorbs or releases energy as it changes
from one state to another.
• IMPORTANT: The heat exchanged between physical states of water provides more than
30% of the energy that powers the general circulation of the atmosphere.
Latent Heat - answer✔The heat energy absorbed or released during a phase change.
Three phases of water - answer✔1) Ice: solid phase
2)Water: liquid phase
3)Water Vapor: gas phase
Ice, the solid phase - answer✔• Upon freezing water expands in volume and density (Note:
maximum density occurs
while water is still in a liquid phase, at 4°C (39°F)
• The decrease in density manifests itself in the buoyancy of ice in water
• The increase in volume can damage infrastructure e.g. roads, pipes and plays an
important role in the weathering (breakdown) of rocks
Water, the liquid phase - answer✔Non-compressible fluid that assumes the shape of its container
• The phase change from ice absorbs heat energy
• A good solvent
Water vapor, the gas phase - answer✔• Invisible and compressible gas
• We see water vapor in the atmosphere after condensation has occurred in the form
of clouds, fog, and steam
• Water vapor is a greenhouse gas
Humidity - answer✔Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air
• The water holding capacity of air is influenced by temperature of the air and water vapor
• Humidity and air temperature determine our sense of comfort
Relative humidity - answer✔A measure of how close the air is to saturation (% saturation) at a
given temperature or the ratio of the amount of water vapor is in the air compared to the
maximum amount of water vapor that the air can hold at a given temperature
• Because there is a maximum amount of water vapor that can exist in a volume of air at a
given temperature, the rates of evaporation and condensation can reach equilibrium at
some point.
Saturation and Dew point - answer✔• Saturation = 100% humidity
• Dew-point temperature: temperature at which a given sample of air becomes saturated with
water vapor and net condensation begins.
Dry Adiabatic Rate (DAR) - answer✔rate at which "dry" air (i.e. unsaturated air) cools by
expansion as it rises or warms by compression as it falls. The average DAR is 10 C°/1000 m (5.5
F°/1000 ft.)
Moist Adiabatic Rate (MAR) - answer✔rate at which saturated air cools by expansion as it rises
or warms by compression as it falls. The average DAR is 6 C°/1000 m (3.3 F°/1000 ft.)
• MAR is lower than DAR because of the latent heat of condensation (cooling) and the
latent heat of evaporation (heating)
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