Question

The relative humidity of a location is 50% and the amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere is 17.5 g/kg. The air pressure at this location is 35∘C. What would be the water vapor content of the atmosphere at saturation in g/kg ?

a. 17.5
b. 35
c. 70
d. 50
e. 8.7

Answer 1

Given that the relative humidity is 50% and the water vapor present is 17.5 g/kg, the water vapor content at saturation (100% relative humidity) would be double that amount, thus 35 g/kg. The correct answer is option b.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question is regarding the calculation of saturation water vapor content of the atmosphere given the relative humidity and air temperature. Relative humidity represents the ratio of the current amount of water vapor in the air to the maximum water vapor the air can hold at that temperature. Since the relative humidity is 50%, and the water vapor content is 17.5 g/kg, at saturation (which is 100% relative humidity), the air can hold twice the amount of water vapor because 50% represents half of 100%. Therefore, the saturation water vapor content would be 17.5 g/kg x 2, which equals 35 g/kg.