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Name: Cheryl
Status: Educator
Age: 45
Location: TN 
Country: United States
Date: January 29, 2005
Question:
When substances such as alcohol and gasoline evaporate, where do they go? Do they enter the water cycle?


Replies:
When a substance like alcohol or gasoline evaporate the substance is converted from a liquid (or sometimes a solid) into a gas (the more exact term is 'a vapor'). The density of the gas (vapor) is much less than the liquid (or solid) so it is not usually visible, but you know it is there, mixed with air, from its odor for example. It does not "disappear" it just is not so easily seen.

Vince Calder

Hi Cheryl

Any substance that evaporates, goes to the atmosphere and stay there depending the temperature, partial pressure, etc, that is the actual conditions. If part is water, (as in alcohol that many times is aqueous solution) the water fraction can be eventually part of the water cycle. The other foreign substances will constitute pollution of the air. Heavier pollution is caused when the fuels as alcohol and gasoline burnt at the engines leaving besides gases microscopic particles. Water rains wash and carries away pollution gases and particles and they eventually pollutes even more the soil and soil plants and again the atmosphere. Thanks for asking NEWTON!

Mabel
(Dr.Mabel M. Rodrigues)


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