Condensation is the process where water vapor becomes liquid.

It is the reverse of evaporation, where

liquid water becomes a vapor.

Condensation happens one of two ways: Either the air is cooled to its dew point or it becomes so
saturated with water vapor that it cannot hold any more water.

Dew Point

Dew point is the temperature at which condensation happens. (Dew is simply condensed water in the
atmosphere.) Air temperatures can reach or fall below the dew point naturally, as they often do at night.
Thats why lawns, cars, and houses are often coated with water droplets in the morning.

Condensation can also produce water droplets on the outside of soda cans or glasses of cold water.
When warm air hits the cold surface, it reaches its dew point and condenses. This leaves droplets of
water on the glass or can.

When a pocket of air becomes full of water vapor, clouds form. The point at which condensation starts
can be easily viewed in cumulus clouds, which have flat bottoms. Those flat bottoms are where vapor
begins to condense into water droplets.

Saturation

Clouds are simply masses of water droplets in the atmosphere. Molecules in water vapor are far apart
from one another. As more water vapor collects in clouds, they can become saturated with water vapor.
Saturated clouds cannot hold any more water vapor. When clouds are saturated with water vapor, the
density, or closeness, of the molecules increases. The vapor condenses and becomes rain.

Cold air holds less water vapor than warm air. This is why warm climates are often more humid than
cold ones: Water vapor remains in the air instead of condensing into rain. Cold climates are more likely
to have rain, because water vapor condenses more easily there.

FAST FACT
Making Rain

Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) are microscopic bits of clay, salt, or solid pollutants such as ash from
smoke. Water in clouds condenses around these condensation nuclei to form raindrops.

Articles & Profiles

National Weather Service: Why Are Some Clouds Fluffy on Top, and Smooth Flat on the Bottom?

Website

National Geographic Science: Clouds and Cloud Formation

NOAA: Cloud Classification

atmosphere (atm)

Noun

(atm) unit of measurement equal to air pressure at sea level, about 14.7 pounds per square inch. Also
called standard atmospheric pressure.

clay

Noun

type of sedimentary rock that is able to be shaped when wet.

cloud

Noun

visible mass of tiny water droplets or ice crystals in Earth's atmosphere.

cloud condensation nuclei (CCN)

Plural Noun

microscopic bits of clay, salt, or solid pollutant around which water vapor condenses in clouds to form
raindrops.

condensation

Noun

process by which water vapor becomes liquid.

cumulus

Noun

type of large cloud with a flat bottom and fluffy tops.

density

Noun

number of things of one kind in a given area.

dew point

Noun

temperature at which water in the air condenses to form water droplets on objects near the ground.

evaporation

Noun

process by which liquid water becomes water vapor.

humid

Adjective

containing a large amount of water vapor.

lab

Noun

(laboratory) place where scientific experiments are performed.

liquid

Noun

state of matter with no fixed shape and molecules that remain loosely bound with each other.
microscopic

Adjective

very small.

molecule

Noun

smallest physical unit of a substance, consisting of two or more atoms linked together.

pollutant

Noun

chemical or other substance that harms a natural resource.

process

Noun

natural or human actions that create and change the Earths features.

raindrop

Noun

drop of liquid from the atmosphere.

salt

Noun

(sodium chloride, NaCl) crystalline mineral often used as a seasoning or preservative for food.

saturate

Verb

to fill one substance with as much of another substance as it can take.

solid
Noun

state of matter with a fixed shape and molecules that vibrate but do not move.

vapor

Noun

visible liquid suspended in the air, such as fog.

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RELATED RESOURCES

The Water Cycle

COLLECTION

The Water Cycle

The movement of water throughout Earth can be understood as a cycle where H20 moves from one
state of matter to another. Use these standards-aligned resources to teach middle schoolers more about
condensation, precipitation, and weather patterns that are affected by, and a part of, the water cycle.

151

Water Cycle

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Water Cycle

The water cycle is the endless process that connects all of the water on Earth.

935

Hydrologic Cycle

ARTICLE

Hydrologic Cycle

The water cycle describes how water is exchanged (cycled) through Earth's land, ocean, and
atmosphere.
293

dew

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

dew

Dew is the moisture that forms at night when objects or the ground outside cool down by radiating, or
emitting, their heat

54

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