Atmospheric Chemistry Flashcards
Percentages of gases in the atmosphere
Nitrogen 80 percent
Oxygen 20 percent
Other gases like co2 less than 1 percent
Most abundant gas the the atmosphere
Nitrogen
3 greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour
How does methane get into the atmosphere
Decomposition of waster, farming cattle, digestive process
What is the greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases absorb long wavelength infrared radiation that is reflected from earth and remit it in all directions including back to earth
How do we still feel heat from the sun
Greenhouse gases don’t absorb short wavelength infrared radiation from the sun
What was the most abundant gas the early atmosphere had
Carbon fix dixodide
What led to the formation of the early atmosphere
Volcanic eruptions
What gases do volcanoes release
Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapour, methane, ammonia
Why did the percentage of oxygen increase
Plant and algae evolved which photosynthesised producing oxygen
Photosynthesis word equation
Water plus carbon dioxide equals oxygen and glucose
Give 2 reasons why the percent of carbon dioxide decreased
Was removed by plants in photosynthesis
Dissolved in the oceans which formed sediments leading to sedimentary rocks shells and fossil fuels
What are the three fossil fuels
Coal oil and natural gas like methane
Why is the percentage of nitrogen so high
Levels of nitrogen has increased slowly as it’s unreactive so doesn’t get used up by many organisms
Why can scientists not be sure about the composition of the early atmosphere
There is limited evidence
What evidence is there that oxygen formed around 2.7 billion years ago
Iron oxide can be found in rocks
Give two ways human activities have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
Agriculture, deforestation, burning fossil fuels, producing waste, burning peat
What’s global warming
An increase in the overall global temperature average
What’s climate change
A change in the long term weather patterns across the planet
2 effects of climate change
Rising sea levels, melting ice caps, extreme wether events, changes in rainfall
Why’s is difficult to determine the cause of climate change
Complex system with many factors
Scientist need to have their work checked and verified by others. What’s this called
Peer review
What is a carbon footprint
The amount of carbon that a person, produc or process releases into the atmosphere over its lifetime
3 atmospheric pollutants
Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbon particulates, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides
