Original Project
Weather and Climate I: Basic Elements
Item WC073003: Humid air can move from one location to another to cause the humidity of the second location to increase.
A town that usually has dry air suddenly had several days with higher humidity. What could explain how the humidity could increase?
- The air temperature would have to increase for the humidity to increase.
- The amount of liquid water in contact with the air at the town would have to increase for the humidity to increase.
- The air temperature and the amount of liquid water in contact with the air would not have to change. Humidity could increase by humid air moving to the town from somewhere else.
- The humidity could increase if the temperature increased or if there was more water in contact with the air, but humid air could not move into the town from somewhere else.
- Distribution of Responses
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 386 | 1027 | 38% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 233 | 673 | 35% |
| 9–12 | 153 | 354 | 43% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 179 | 472 | 38% |
| Female | 200 | 537 | 37% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 351 | 899 | 39% |
| Other | 27 | 105 | 26% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- ESS2.C Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation, as well as downhill flows on land.
- NRC Framework
- Practice 6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions: ...evaluate…explanations for consistency with the evidence.
- Notes
- Performance Expectation MS-ESS2-5 addresses the idea that changes in weather, including changes in humidity, can be caused by the movement of air masses from one region to another.