Question

Why do clouds float?(0% H2O (g).
a)Use the following composition of air and compute the molecular weight (g/mol) of dry air: N2(78.1%), O2(20.9%), and Ar (1%). You may ignore all other constituents in ai rfor this problem.

b)Repeat the calculation of part a), but now assume that the air mixture has 2% H2O (g). For this problem, assume that the molecules of water vapor displace the other three components (N2, O2, Ar) in proportion to their original percentages (i.e., scale such that the percentages of the 4 components in the new mixture total 100%).

c)Calculateand comparethe densitiesofthe two air mixturesat 25 degrees C and 1 atm. Explain how the presence of water vaporin air contributes to a change in density and why that might help a cloud float.

Answer 1