Relative Humidity Name__________________________________________

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. The warmer air is, the more volume it has. When
air has more volume, it can hold more water vapor. Humidity changes daily because air temperature
changes daily. Relative humidity is the measurement of how much water air is holding compared to
how much water it can hold at certain temperatures. When the air can’t hold any more water, it is
completely saturated, or 100% humidity. When air is saturated with water vapor, precipitation is
likely to occur. When air is very dry, people can experience dry skin and more static electricity. Most
people feel comfortable at a relative humidity of about 40-50%.

Scientists use an instrument called a psychrometer to measure

the relative humidity of air. A psychrometer has two
thermometers on it. One thermometer takes the temperature
of the air normally. The other thermometer has a wet piece of
cotton on it. To use the psychrometer, it is swung in a circle
for about one minute. As it swings, two things happen:

• The dry thermometer bulb measures the actual air

temperature.
• As the wet cotton ball starts to dry by evaporation,
thermal energy is drawn out of the wet-bulb
thermometer. This lowers the temperature on the
wet-bulb thermometer.

Moist air allows only a little water to evaporate, so the temperature reading on the thermometer will
not change much. Dry air absorbs a lot more moisture, cooling the bulb quite a bit. This is how the
wet bulb tells the scientist how humid the air is.

To find the exact relative humidity, scientists calculate the difference between the wet-bulb
temperature and the dry-bulb temperature. This value is called the “wet-bulb depression”. Then, they
reference a Relative Humidity Table which provides information about relative humidity at various
wet-bulb depression and dry bulb temperature readings.

Directions: Answer the questions below.

1. Define humidity.

2. Define relative humidity.

3. What is the difference between humidity and relative humidity?

4. Describe how a psychrometer works.

©Flying Colors Science

5. Use a relative humidity chart to fill in the blanks. An example has been provided for you.

Degrees
Wet Bulb Difference Relative
Question Dry Bulb Temp
Temp Between Wet Humidity
Number (°C)
(°C) and Dry Bulbs (See Chart)
(°C)
EXAMPLE 9 7 2 76%
5a. 14 9 %
5b. 21 19 %
5c. 18 15 %
5d. 5 2 %
5e. 28 15 %
5f. 17 17 %
5g. 30 14 %
5g. 20 11 %

6. Below are three representations of psychrometers. Look at the wet bulb and dry bulb readings on
each psychrometer and determine the relative humidity of the surrounding air.

6a. Relative
Humidity
________

Wet Bulb

Dry Bulb
6b. Relative Humidity ________

Wet Bulb
Dry Bulb

6c. Relative Humidity ________

©Flying Colors Science
7. Generate relative humidity data to answer the questions that follow.

Degrees
Wet Bulb Difference Relative
Dry Bulb Temp
Temp Between Wet Humidity
(°C)
(°C) and Dry Bulbs (See Chart)
(°C)
Monday 14 10 %
Tuesday 16 16 %
Wednesday 28 20 %
Thursday 16 6 %
Friday 17 8 %

8. Which day of the week (from #7) would be most likely to have precipitation?
Explain your response.

9. Which day of the week (from #7) could a person experience dry skin?
Explain your response.

10. Examine the diagram to the right to answer the questions below.

a. Determine the relative humidity of

the room.

b. Explain how the process of evaporation

affects the temperature of the wet bulb
thermometer.

11. Meteorologists predict that tomorrow’s humidity level will be the same as today’s humidity
level. This means that the air tomorrow will contain exactly as much water vapor as the air
contains today. However, tomorrow is predicted to be a much warmer day. Will the
relative humidity tomorrow be higher or lower than today? Explain your answer.

©Flying Colors Science

Relative Humidity Name_______________KEY_______________________

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. The warmer air is, the more volume it has. When
air has more volume, it can hold more water vapor. Humidity changes daily because air temperature
changes daily. Relative humidity is the measurement of how much water air is holding compared to
how much water it can hold at certain temperatures. When the air can’t hold any more water, it is
completely saturated, or 100% humidity. When air is saturated with water vapor, precipitation is
likely to occur. When air is very dry, people can experience dry skin and more static electricity. Most
people feel comfortable at a relative humidity of about 40-50%.

Scientists use an instrument called a psychrometer to measure

the relative humidity of air. A psychrometer has two
thermometers on it. One thermometer takes the temperature
of the air normally. The other thermometer has a wet piece of
cotton on it. To use the psychrometer, it is swung in a circle
for about one minute. As it swings, two things happen:

• The dry thermometer bulb measures the actual air

temperature.
• As the wet cotton ball starts to dry by evaporation,
thermal energy is drawn out of the wet-bulb
thermometer. This lowers the temperature on the
thermometer.

Moist air allows only a little water to evaporate, so the temperature reading on the thermometer will
not change much. Dry air absorbs a lot more moisture, cooling the bulb quite a bit. This is how the
wet bulb tells the scientist how humid the air is.

To find the exact relative humidity, scientists calculate the difference between the wet-bulb
temperature and the dry-bulb temperature. This value is called the “wet-bulb depression”. Then, they
reference a Relative Humidity Table which provides information about relative humidity at various
wet-bulb depression and dry bulb temperature readings.

Directions: Answer the questions below.

1. Define humidity.
Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air.
2. Define relative humidity.
Relative humidity is the measurement of how much water air is holding compared to how
much water it can hold at certain temperatures.
3. What is the difference between humidity and relative humidity?
They are different because humidity is the measure of water vapor in the air, regardless of
temperature. Relative humidity also measures water vapor but relative to the temperature of
the air.
4. Describe how a psychrometer works.
A psychrometer has two thermometers. One takes the temperature of the air normally. The other has a wet piece
of cotton on it. To use the psychrometer, it is swung in a circle and as it swings, two things happen. The dry bulb
measures the actual air temperature. As the wet cotton ball starts to dry by evaporation, thermal energy is drawn
out of the wet-bulb thermometer. This lowers the temperature on the thermometer. Moist air allows only a little
water to evaporate, so the temperature reading on the thermometer will not change much. Dry air absorbs a lot
more moisture, cooling the bulb quite a bit.

©Flying Colors Science

5. Use a relative humidity chart to fill in the blanks. An example has been provided for you.

Degrees
Wet Bulb Difference Relative
Question Dry Bulb Temp
Temp Between Wet Humidity
Number (°C)
(°C) and Dry Bulbs (See Chart)
(°C)
EXAMPLE 9 7 2 76%
5a. 14 9 5 50%
5b. 21 19 2 83%
5c. 18 15 3 72%
5d. 5 2 3 58%
5e. 28 15 13 21%
5f. 17 17 0 100%
5g. 30 14 16 13%
5g. 20 11 9 30%

6. Below are three representations of psychrometers. Look at the wet bulb and dry bulb readings on
each psychrometer and determine the relative humidity of the surrounding air.

6a. Relative
Humidity
69%
________

Wet Bulb

Dry Bulb
58%
6b. Relative Humidity ________

Wet Bulb
Dry Bulb
33%
6c. Relative Humidity ________
©Flying Colors Science
7. Generate relative humidity data to answer the questions that follow.

Degrees
Wet Bulb Difference Relative
Dry Bulb Temp
Temp Between Wet Humidity
(°C)
(°C) and Dry Bulbs (See Chart)
(°C)

Monday 14 10 4 60%
Tuesday 16 16 0 100%
Wednesday 28 20 8 47%
Thursday 16 6 10 14%
Friday 17 8 9 35%

8. Which day of the week (from #7) would be most likely to have precipitation?
Explain your response.
Tuesday had a relative humidity of 100% so it is most likely to have precipitation.

9. Which day of the week (from #7) could a person experience dry skin?
Explain your response.
Thursday had a relative humidity of 14%, which is very low, so it would likely be a day that
people would experience dry skin.

10. Examine the diagram to the right to answer the questions below.

a. Determine the relative humidity of

the room.
62%
b. Explain how the process of evaporation
affects the temperature of the wet bulb
thermometer.
As the wet cotton ball starts to dry
by evaporation, thermal energy is drawn
out of the wet-bulb thermometer. This
lowers the temperature on the
thermometer.

11. Meteorologists predict that tomorrow’s humidity level will be the same as today’s humidity
level. This means that the air tomorrow will contain exactly as much water vapor as the air
contains today. However, tomorrow is predicted to be a much warmer day. Will the relative
humidity tomorrow be higher or lower than today? Explain your answer.
If the water vapor content stays the same and the temperature increases, the relative humidity
decreases. This is due to colder air today not requiring as much moisture to become saturated
as warmer air tomorrow.

©Flying Colors Science

 Dry Bulb Wet Bulb Depression = Number of Degrees Difference Between the Wet and Dry Bulb Readings (°C)
Temp °C 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
RELATIVE HUMIDITY CHART

-2 100 79 60 40 22
-1 100 81 62 43 26 8
0 100 81 63 45 28 11
1 100 83 66 49 33 17
2 100 83 67 51 36 20 6
3 100 84 70 55 40 26 16
4 100 85 70 56 42 27 14
5 100 86 72 58 45 33 20 7
6 100 86 72 59 46 35 22 10
7 100 87 74 62 50 38 26 15
8 100 87 74 62 51 39 28 17 6
9 100 88 76 64 53 42 32 22 12
10 100 88 76 65 54 43 33 24 13 4
11 100 89 78 67 56 46 36 27 18 9
12 100 88 78 67 57 48 38 28 19 10 2
13 100 89 79 69 59 50 41 32 23 15 7
14 100 89 79 69 60 50 41 33 25 16 8 1
15 100 90 80 71 61 53 44 36 27 20 13 6
16 100 90 80 71 62 54 45 37 29 21 14 7 1
17 100 90 81 72 64 55 47 40 31 35 18 11
18 100 91 81 72 64 56 48 40 33 26 19 12 6
19 100 91 82 74 65 58 50 43 36 29 22 16 10
20 100 91 82 74 66 58 51 44 36 30 23 17 11 5
21 100 91 83 75 67 60 53 46 39 32 26 20 14 9
22 100 92 83 75 68 60 53 46 40 33 27 21 15 10 4
23 92 84 76 69 62 55 55 48 42 36 30 24 19 13 8
24 100 92 84 76 69 62 55 49 42 36 30 25 20 14 9 4
25 100 92 84 77 70 63 57 50 44 39 33 28 22 17 12 8
26 100 92 85 77 70 64 57 51 45 39 34 28 23 18 13 9 5
27 100 92 85 78 71 65 58 52 47 41 36 31 26 21 16 12 7
28 100 93 86 78 71 65 59 53 47 42 36 31 26 21 17 12 9 5
29 100 93 86 79 72 66 60 54 49 43 38 33 28 24 19 15 11 7
30 100 93 86 79 72 66 61 55 49 44 39 34 29 25 20 16 13 9 5
31 100 93 86 80 74 68 62 57 51 46 41 37 32 28 23 19 14 11 7
32 100 93 87 80 74 68 63 57 52 47 42 40 35 32 26 23 16 12 9 5
33 100 93 87 81 75 69 63 58 53 48 43 42 37 34 28 25 17 14 10 7
34 100 93 87 81 75 69 64 59 54 49 44 43 38 35 29 26 19 15 12 8 5
35 100 94 87 81 75 69 64 59 54 49 44 40 36 32 26 24 20 17 13 10 7
©Flying Colors Science