Question

mitch did an experiment about evaporation for the school science fair. on saturday morning, he set a beaker of water outside. during the course of the day, the temperature rose, stayed constant at a high temperature, and then cooled back down. he discovered that the water evaporated more quickly when the outdoor temperature was hotter. which graph could show the amount of water in the beaker over the course of the day?

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze evaporation rate with temperature

The water evaporates faster when temperature is hotter. Temperature rose, stayed constant (high), then cooled. So evaporation rate: slow (cool start) → fast (hot) → slow (cool end). So the amount of water (y) should decrease: slowly at first, then faster (when temp is high), then slower (when temp cools).

Step2: Analyze the two graphs

• Left graph: Water amount increases then stays then decreases. But water should only evaporate (decrease), so left is wrong.
• Right graph: The curve's slope (rate of decrease) changes. At first, slope is less (slow decrease), then slope becomes more negative (faster decrease, when temp is high), then slope becomes less negative (slower decrease, when temp cools). This matches the evaporation rate with temperature changes.

Answer:

The Right Graph