Relative Humidity Weather Lab: Build and Use a Simple Psychrometer

Students build a simple psychrometer and use it to measure the relative humidity of the air in different areas of the school.

You may also be interested in this Relative Humidity Worksheet!

In this activity, students will:

• READ background information about relative humidity and the tool we use to measure it, the psychrometer.
• BUILD a psychrometer from easy-to-follow instructions.
• PERFORM THE LAB by measuring the relative humidity of various areas and recording results in a data table.
• GRAPH data (bar graph).
• ANSWER follow-up questions.

Materials Needed:

• Thermometers
• String
• Paper towel -or- cotton ball
• Small elastic -or- paper clip

Teacher Notes:

• Clear, easy to read printable relative humidity chart INCLUDED with download.
• Answer key INCLUDED.
• Please note that this resource is not editable.
• NGSS Standards: MS-ESS2-5 (weather) and NGSS MS-ESS2-4 (water cycle)
• NGSS Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and using models
• NGSS Science & Engineering Practice: Planning and carrying out investigations
• NGSS Science & Engineering Practice: Analyzing and interpreting data
• Check out more resources in the water cycle section of our shop!