Chapter 25, Problem 1RCQ

What is the difference between humidity and relative humidity?

To determine

The difference between the humidity and relative humidity.

Answer to Problem 1RCQ

The humidity and relative humidity are differing in terms of their measuring methods.

Explanation of Solution

The humidity is defined as the amount of water vapor present in the unit volume of atmospheric air. Relative humidity is the ratio of the amount of water vapor present in the air to the maximum amount of water vapor that the air can hold at a certain temperature.

The both humidity and relative humidity are methods of measuring of water vapor present in atmospheric air. The main difference between humidity and relatively humidity is that the humidity is the measure of water vapor present in the unit volume of air regardless of temperature, but the relative humidity is a measure of water vapor relative to the temperature of the air.

Another difference between the humidity and the relative humidity is in the methods of measuring them. The humidity is measured in $\text{gm}/{\text{m}}^3$, whereas the relative humidity is measured in percentage of moisture against the highest possible level of moisture in the air at a specific temperature.