Why does tap water evaporate faster than, salt lake or rainwater?
Evaporation rate varies with temperature, wind speed, humidity, and atmospheric pressure. The rate of evaporation is also affected by the surface to volume ratio of the water body: a water body with a large surface area will evaporate more quickly than the same volume of water with a much smaller surface area. Rate of evaporation can also be affected by the concentration of salts contained in water. Salinity has a great effect on changing the properties of water. The concentration of salts in fresh water is, on the average, so small that it is expressed in parts per million (ppm). The table below presents examples of average concentrations of dissolved salts in different types of water: Sources of Water Salt Concentrations (ppm) Distilled 0 Rain 10 Lake Tahoe (California/Nevada) 70 Suwannee River 150 Lake Michigan 170 Missouri River 360 Pecos River 2,600 Pyramid Lake (Nevada) 5,200 Ocean 35,000 Brine Well 125,000 Dead Sea 250,000 Salt lake water evaporates more slowly than fresh water
