Question

Which statements about humidity are true? Check all that apply.

Humidity is the measure of the amount of water vapor in the air.
Warm air holds less water vapor than cold air.
Warm areas promote less evaporation.
Areas with a large amount of surface water have high humidity levels.
Warm tropical areas have very humid air.

Answer 1

True:
- Humidity is the measure of the amount of water vapor in the air.
- Areas with a large amount of surface water have high humidity levels (generally, because evaporation adds water vapor to the air).
- Warm tropical areas have very humid air (generally true for many tropical regions).

False:
- Warm air holds less water vapor than cold air. (False — warm air can hold more water vapor; saturation vapor pressure increases with temperature.)
- Warm areas promote less evaporation. (False — higher temperatures generally increase evaporation rates.)

Note: there are local exceptions (e.g., some hot deserts are very dry despite being warm), but the above are the correct general statements.