Climate Science Air Pressure Questions!

Question

1) Under normal atmospheric conditions, what is the relationship between air pressure and air temperature?

A) there is no relationship between air temperature and moisture

B) warmer air holds more moisture and cooler air holds less moisture

C) warmer air holds less moisture and cooler air holds more moisture

My gut is saying "B," but I'm finding conflicting sources and now I'm overthinking it... AGHHH...

Answer 1

Hello!

You shouldn't second guess yourself, you've got this! Your answer, B, is correct. Warmer air is able to hold more moisture than colder air. When air gets colder, it loses its ability to hold water leading to condensation and sometimes even precipitation as the moisture is dropped by the cooling air. We see this a lot as air rises or moves up a mountain. It drops the moisture and can cause things like the rain shadow effect.

If you want to test this physically in a way that you can see it, take one cup of water and have it at room temperature. Measure and mix in as much sugar or salt as you can dissolve before it starts to collect at the bottom. Now take one cup of water and heat it to boiling on the stove and dissolve as much sugar or salt as you can in it. You will be able to dissolve much more of the salt or sugar in the hot water because just like the warmer air, it can hold more.

As it cools down, the sugar or salt will actually start to form crystals since the water cannot hold it anymore. It can be a really interesting and helpful demonstration to show that when something is warmer, it can dissolve and hold more of a solute/substance.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.