Evaporation

CAP 5.11 ES

Question
Does the material of a container
affect the rate of evaporation?

Hypothesis
I believe the water will evaporate
fastest out of the metal container
than the plastic because the metal
will absorb most of the heat, aiding
in the evaporation of the water.

Rationale
I did this project because I was
curious as to whether a metal or
plastic bottle was better to store
water. I frequently go to the theme
parks and every trip includes a bottle
of water. Carrying the bottle around
all day always leads to some
evaporation due to the heat of the
sun. This experiment was designed
to see what container material would

Abstract
In my project, I am trying to figure out does the
material of a container affect evaporation of water.
I am using metal and plastic containers for the
experiment. I hypothesize that the metal
container will evaporate the water the fastest,
since it will absorb more heat to speed up the
process. On the first day, I put 2 oz (54.147 ml /
56.699 grams) of water inside the containers. I
measured the containers every day for seven days.
Looking at the results it became clear that the
water was evaporating faster from the metal
containers. These results matched my hypothesis.

Materials

(5) 4oz (118.294 ml) Plastic container

(5) 4oz (118.294 ml) Metal container
Tap water
Measuring spoon to fill containers
Scale

Procedure (SIMPLIFIED)
Lay out metal and plastic containers
Determine and record the weight of empty
containers
Fill containers with 2oz (59.147 ml) of water
Determine and record the weight of full
containers
Weigh each container at a set time (6pm)
each day
Record daily values of weights
Repeat process for 7 days

Data

The weights of the empty containers are:

Plastic .1 oz (28.349 grams)
Metal .6 oz (17.009 grams)

The weights of the containers filled with 2 oz (59.147 ml) of water are:
Plastic 2.1 oz (59.534 grams)
Metal 2.6 oz (73.708 grams)
The weight of the plastic containers measured over seven days was:
2.1 oz (59.53 grams,) 1.9 oz (53.864 grams,) 1.7 oz (48.194 grams,) 1.6 oz (45.359
grams,) 1.5 oz (42.524 grams,) 1.4 oz (39.689 grams,) and 1.3 oz (36.854 grams.)
Deducting the weight of the container yields the following measurments of water
for each day:
2.0 oz (59.147 ml,) 1.8 oz (53.232 ml,) 1.6 oz (47.317 ml,) 1.5 oz (44.360 ml,) 1.4
oz (41.402 ml)
These weights were the same for all five sets measured.
The weight of the metal containers measured over seven days was:
2.6 oz (73.708 grams,) 1.8 oz (51.029 grams,) 1.7 oz (48.194 grams,) 1.5 oz
(42.524 grams,) 1.4 oz (39.689 grams,) 1.2 oz (34.019 grams,) 1.0 oz (28.349
grams)
Deducting the weight of the container yields the following measurements of
water for each day:
2.0 oz (59.147 ml,) 1.2 oz (35.488 ml,) 1.1 oz (32.530 ml,) .9 oz (26.616 ml,) .8 oz
(23.658 ml,) .6 oz (17.744 ml,) .4 oz (11.829 ml)
These weights were the same for all five sets measured.

Graph

1.9

Rate of Evaporation

1.8

1.8
1.7

1.6

1.6

1.5

1.5

1.4

1.4

Ounces

1.3

1.3
1.2

1.2

1.2
1.1

1.1
1

0.9

0.9

0.8

0.8
0.7

0.6

Graph by: Cosette

Fortune

0.6
0.5
0.4
1

0.4
3

Days

Data Analysis
After recording the measurements for the first
day, it was clear that water was evaporating
from the containers. Both the plastic and the
metal containers showed a trend of losing
water to evaporation. The second days
reading reflected a dramatic drop in the
measurements for the metal container. Over
the course of the seven days that the
containers were measured, it was clear that
the metal container had the higher rate of
evaporation.

Conclusion
My experiment measured the effect of a containers
material on the rate of evaporation. My hypothesis
was that the metal container would evaporate the
water the fastest since it will absorb the most heat
and aid in the process. With the data I have
recorded, I can see that my hypothesis was correct
If I were to do this experiment again, I would
probably use containers of several different
materials to see how it affects them as well. It
would also be interesting to see how different
liquids like juice or oil respond to the material of
the container.

References
Gregory, Carlin. "Re: In Which Case Would Evaporation Take Place the
Fastest?" Re: In Which Case Would Evaporation Take Place the Fastest? 9
Dec. 2004. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2004-12/1102622012.Ph.r.html>.
Perlman, Howard. "The Water Cycle: Evaporation." Evaporation, The
Water Cycle, from USGS Water-Science School. 7 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Nov.
2015. <http://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycleevaporation.html>.
Silberberg, Martin A. (2006). Chemistry (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
pp. 431434. ISBN 0-07-296439-1.
"Evaporation." UXL Encyclopedia of Science. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 16
Nov. 2015 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
"Energy Transfer by Heating." Conduction, Convection, Evaporation,
Condensation. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. <http://physicsnet.co.uk/gcsephysics/thermal-energy-transfer/>.
Background images: Microsoft Word Clipart
Materials Photographs: Maria Garcia