Perhaps the most obvious choice for a science project regarding evaporation is an investigatory project that seeks to find how different factors affect the rate at which evaporation occurs. Such a project would set containers of water under different conditions, such as dark/light environments, hot/cold temperatures, wet/dry humidities and other possible influential situations. The student would then observe the rate of evaporation over the days and weeks, finding which situations cause the water to evaporate more quickly.
Many students do not know about the cooling effect of evaporation. In fact, the process of evaporation effects a negative change in temperature. Students taking this angle for their science project, may try to apply evaporation in this way to show how evaporation can be used in the real world. For example, students may try placing two thermometers in the same area, with one over a cup of water. As the water evaporates, students should observe the two thermometers, detecting any difference in temperature.
One important factor that affects water evaporation is the surface or container on which or in which the water is placed. Students can try placing water in different containers or other interesting places (such as in a sponge). This type of project would hypothesize which containers would inhibit evaporation and which would exacerbate it. Students would then measure how much water is in each container and make comparisons.
Although ideally water is pure H20, that is not the case with most water in the real world. For example, the water from a faucet likely contains some particles from the pipes inside the house’s piping. The different elements and compounds inside water may affect the rate of the water's evaporation. Students can investigate this concept in their project by purposefully altering the water being used. For example, students may try adding salt or sugar to the water. After alteration, the water can be set in a specific area to evaporate. Students then can compare how quickly each type of water evaporated and make conclusions.