Which process best describes how water changes from a liquid in a lake to water vapor in the air?

Which process best describes how water changes from a liquid in a lake to water vapor in the air?

• A. Condensation
• B. Evaporation
• C. Freezing
• D. Melting

Answer: (B)

Water at the lake surface gains energy from the sun and moving air, and some of the water molecules close to the surface gain enough energy to overcome the forces holding them in the liquid. Those energized molecules escape into the air as water vapor. This changing from liquid to gas can happen below the boiling point, so evaporation is the gradual process at the lake surface, not a rapid boiling. The other processes involve different changes: condensation is gas turning back into liquid, freezing is liquid becoming solid, and melting is solid becoming liquid.

Water at the lake surface gains energy from the sun and moving air, and some of the water molecules close to the surface gain enough energy to overcome the forces holding them in the liquid. Those energized molecules escape into the air as water vapor. This changing from liquid to gas can happen below the boiling point, so evaporation is the gradual process at the lake surface, not a rapid boiling. The other processes involve different changes: condensation is gas turning back into liquid, freezing is liquid becoming solid, and melting is solid becoming liquid.