C11 Flashcards
Composition of the atmosphere?
78%nitrogen 21% oxygen 0.04% carbon dioxide 0.9% argon Rest is various other gases , water vapour and noble gases
How long has the proportions of gases been the same as today?
For about 200 million years
How old is the earth?
4.6 billion years old
What has happened to theories of the earth during the first billions of years?
Ideas have changed over time as it is difficult to measure over such a vast amount of time
How did the earth look for the first billion years?
Surface was covered in volcanoes that erupted and released lots of gases. This was how the early atmosphere was formed. Intense volcanic activity, extremely explosive.
What was the early atmosphere like?
Probably mostly carbon dioxide with very little to no oxygen. Quite like the atmosphere of mars and venus today.
What lead to the build up of nitrogen in the atmosphere over the first billion of years?
Volcanoes released nitrogen , which built up in the atmosphere over time , as well as water vapour and small amounts of methane and ammonia
How were oceans formed ?
When the water vapour released by volcanoes condensed
Why did carbon dioxide begin to be removed from the early atmosphere?
Dissolved in the oceans. This dissolved carbon dioxide, then went through a series of reactions to form carbonate precipitates that forms sediments on the seabed reducing the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
How did plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?
Green plants and algae evolved and absorbed some of the carbon dioxide so they could carry out photosynthesis.
What happened as marine animals evolved?
Shells and skeletons contained carbonates from the ocean. Some carbon from the ocean and atmosphere got locked up in rocks and fossil fuels after the organisms died.
What happens when marine animals and plankton died?
Fall to the sea bed and get buried by layers of sediment . Over millions of years , they become compressed and form sedimentary rock , oil and gas- trapping carbon within them and helping to keep carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reduced.
What is produced when plankton and marine animals fell to the bottom of the ocean ?
Fossil fuels were formed after immense compression
What is formed from plankton deposits?
Crude oil and natrual gas. Fossil fuels formed reservoirs under seabed when they get trapped in rocks
What forms coal?
Sedimentary rock formed by thick plants deposits
How did oxygen come into the atmosphere?
As well as plants absorbing carbon dioxide , they also produced oxygen by photosynthesis