Eli5: Does hotter temperatures evaporate water faster when cooking?

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If I put a cup of water in an oven proof container and boil it in an oven at 400 degrees, and then do it with an oven at 500 degrees,

Will the hotter oven evaporate the water faster?

My thought is it will all evaporate at 212 but the hotter oven would make it to 212 faster. Aside from that, would a hotter temp make it happen faster if all other things were equal?

In: Chemistry

9 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Yes, hotter temperatures do make water evaporate faster when you’re cooking. Imagine you’re at a pool party on a hot day vs. a cool day. On the hot day, you’d dry off much quicker when you get out of the pool. The same idea applies to cooking.
When you’re cooking and the stove is set to a high temperature, it’s like turning up the sun at the pool party. The water in the pot gets really hot, and the heat gives energy to the water molecules. This energy makes the molecules move faster and faster until they have enough power to break away from the rest and jump into the air as steam.
So, the hotter the burner, the more energy the water molecules get, and the faster they turn into steam and evaporate. That’s why boiling water on a high setting makes it disappear faster than on a low setting.

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