Q1.
Jyoti was curious, “Is there water in the air too? And is snow a form of water?”.
Answer
Yes to both. There is water in the air, and snow is one of the forms of water.
Water in the air. The air around you always has some water in it. You cannot see it, because it is there as water vapour — water in the form of a gas. You can prove it is there:
- Take a steel glass and put ice cubes in it.
- Wait for two or three minutes.
- Tiny drops appear on the outside of the glass.
- Those drops are the water vapour of the air, cooled by the cold glass and turned back into water.
Snow. Snow is water in its solid form, just like ice. When water vapour high up in the sky becomes very cold, it turns straight into soft white flakes of ice and falls down as snow.
| Form of water | What it is like | You have seen it as |
|---|---|---|
| Solid | Hard, keeps its shape | Ice cube, snow, hail |
| Liquid | Flows, takes the shape of the pot | Rain, river water, drinking water |
| Vapour (gas) | Invisible, spreads through the air | Water in the air, steam over hot dal |
Why it is still water: Ice, water and vapour are the same thing wearing three different coats. Heat it and it becomes vapour. Cool it and it becomes water again. Cool it much more and it becomes ice.