How does increasing the surface area of a liquid affect the rate of evaporation? Explain with an example.

Increasing the surface area of a liquid increases the rate of evaporation. This is because evaporation is a surface phenomenon, meaning only particles at the surface can escape into the atmosphere. 

A larger surface area exposes more liquid particles to the surroundings, allowing more particles to gain enough kinetic energy to escape. For example, clothes dry faster when spread out than when folded because spreading them out increases the surface area for water to evaporate.