How does boiling differ from evaporation?

Answer 1

Boiling is when a liquid is changing to a gas because it has gained enough energy, usually through heat, to overcome the pressure pushing on the liquid and the intermolecular forces between the molecules of the liquid. Evaporatation is essentially the same thing as boiling, just like freezing is the same solidification.

Answer 2

Evaporation is much slower than boiling, and it can happen at any temperature (above zero Kelvin) whereas boiling only happens at the boiling point. Evaporation happens when a liquid molecule has enough energy to escape from the surface of a liquid - this is why you can smell perfume and why puddles disappear in warm weather As these molecules build up above the surface of the liquid, there is a build up of pressure. This is called the saturated vapour pressure. When the overall temperature of the liquid is high enough, the saturated vapour pressure increases until it is equal to atmospheric pressure - this is called the boiling point.

Answer 3

Boiling - If you boil something, it will raise it to an extremely high temperature, and do nothing else. E.g. if you boil water, it will become hot, but then do nothing else.

Evaporation - If you evaporate something, you are essentially turning it from a liquid to a gas. E.g. turning water to steam.