C9 - Chemistry of the Atmosphere Flashcards
Percentage of Nitrogen in atmosphere
Approximately 80%
Percentage of Oxygen in atmosphere
Approximately 20%
Other gases in atmosphere and percentage
Carbon Dioxide, Water Vapour, Noble Gases
All under 1%
How old is the earth
4.6 billion years
What do scientists believe happened in early years
Volcanoes erupted, releasing gases that made up the early atmosphere
What gases did the early volcanoes release
Mainly Carbon Dioxide, basically no Oxygen, Methane, Ammonia, Nitrogen, Water Vapour
What happened to water vapour released from volcanoes
Condensed to form oceans and some of the carbon dioxide dissolved in the ocean which reacted with minerals to form precipitates, eventually making sediments of carbonate rock on the seabed
How was limestone formed
Dead shells and skeletons
How was carbon dioxide absorbed
Evolved green plants and algae carbon dioxide for photosynthesis
Marine animals evolved and had shells and skeletons containing carbonates
How are sedimentary rocks, oil and gas formed
Plants, plankton, marine animals die and fall to seabed and are buried by layers of sediment and become compressed over millions of years.
Why is the level of water a variable
Changes with temperature
Why does some short wavelength radiation pass through the atmosphere
Short wavelength radiation does not interact strongly with the gas molecules in atmosphere
What is Carbon Footprint
Total amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full cycle of a product, service or event
Do greenhouse gases absorb long or short wave radiation
Long wave
Human Activity that affects amount of greenhouse gases
Deforestation
Burning of Fossil Fuels
Agriculture
Creating Waste
