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AQA GCSE Chemistry > Chemistry of the Atmosphere > Flashcards

Chemistry of the Atmosphere Flashcards

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1
Q

What is dry air made up of ?

A

80% Nitrogen
20% Oxygen
1% other gases like argon and CO2 (0.04%)

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2
Q

What are the three greenhouse gases?

A

methane, water vapur, carbon dioxide

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3
Q

What are the other pollutants in the atmosphere?

A

sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon particulants, unburned hydrocarbons, nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide

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4
Q

What creates smog?

A
  • carbon particulates

- unburned hydrocarbons

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5
Q

What chemicals made up the ancient atmosphere?

A

95% carbon dioxide
2.5% methane
2.5% ammonia and nitrogen
water vapour

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6
Q

How was the early atmosphere formed?

A

Many volcanoes covered the Earth’s surface and erupted and released lots of gases until they were in a great enough volume to form an atmosphere

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7
Q

What happened to the water vapour in the early atmosphere?

A

It condensed and formed the oceans

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8
Q

Why could shells and sedimentary rock etc. be formed out the oceans?

A

Carbon dioxide was dissolved in the oceans

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9
Q

What was the carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans used for in the early atmosphere?

A
  • photosynthesis of green plants, algae and bacteria
  • shells and skeletons of marine animals from calcium carbonate
  • formation of sedimentary rock like limestone (calcium carbonate)
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10
Q

What are crude oil and natural gas formed from?

A

deposits of plankton

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11
Q

What is coal(sedimentary rock) formed from?

A

thick plant deposits

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12
Q

What is limestone(sedimentary rock) formed from?

A

caclium carbonate deposits from the shells and skeletons of marine organisms

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13
Q

How do fossil fuels and limestone keep carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reduced?

A

They trap the carbon within them when they are formed from the compression by the layers of sediment, preventing the carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere

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14
Q

How did oxygen levels in the atmosphere increase?

A
  • Bacteria like stromatolytes , followed by algae and then green plants photosynthesised, producing oxygen
  • oxygen reacted with all the iron in the oceans until it was in surplus and then escaped into the atmosphere
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15
Q

Why is the nitrogen concentration so much higher in our atmosphere compared to in the first atmosphere and in comparison to oxygen?

A
  • nitrogen is chemically inert so hasn’t reacted or been used up
  • oxygen has been used up in iron oxide, silicon dioxide and calcium carbonate
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16
Q

How long ago were the primitive algae said to be around?

A

2.7 billion years

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17
Q

When did green plants evolve?

A

the billion years after algae

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18
Q

How is limestone made from the remains of sea animals?

A
  • sea animals died and fell to the seabed
  • their skeletons and shells built up on the seabed over millions of years
  • layers of sediment covered the skeletons and shells
  • pressure from the weight of sediment above resulted in the formation of limestone
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19
Q

How was coal formed from trees?

A
  • trees died in swamps
  • they were buried without oxygen
  • and compressed and heated in the Earth’s crust over millions of years
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20
Q

How were oil and gas formed from the remains of plankton?

A
  • plankton remains fell into mud on the seabed
  • the remains were covered by sediment that became layers of rock over millions of years
  • the plankton remains were compressed and heated in the absence of oxygen
  • this made them oil and natural gas which are now found beneath the layers of rock
21
Q

What have increased the amount of methane in the atmosphere?

A
  • increased cattle farming

- melting of ice which contains vegetation which have been anaerobically decayed, so releases methane

22
Q

What are the greenhouse gases?

A
  • water vapour
  • carbon dioxide
  • methane
23
Q

What do greenhouse gases do?

A

Maintain a temperature on Earth high enough to support life

24
Q

What is the greenhouse effect simply?

A

The absorbing of energy by gases in the atmosphere which keeps the Earth wamer than it would otherwise be

25
Q

Descrbie the greenhouse effect:

A
  • Sun emits radiation
  • short wavelength UV radiation passes through the greenhouse gases, meaning heat reaches and warms the surface of the Earth
  • the surface of the Earth cools by emitting longer wavelength infra-red radiation
  • some UV radiation is meanwhile reflected from the surface of the Earth and escapes into Space
  • some infra-red radiation is absorbed by the greenhouse gases and re-radiated
  • this increases the average global temperature as infra-red radiation (heat) can’t escape the atmosphere
26
Q

What is global warming?

A

the gradual increase in the Earth’s mean air temperature at the surface of the Earth. It happens as a result of the greenhouse effect.

27
Q

What activities lead to increased carbon dioxide?

A
  • combustion of fossil fuels (methane and coal)

- deforestation

28
Q

What activities lead to increased methane?

A
  • more animal farming (particularly cattle)

- decomposition of rubbish in landfill sites

29
Q

What causes global climate change?

A

The increase in the average global temperature

30
Q

What is climate change?

A

The long term change in the whole weather system

31
Q

What are the effects/signs of climate change?

A
  • retreat of glaciers so sea level rising, increasing coastal flooding and erosion
  • temperature stress for humans and wildlife
  • water stress (fresh water supplies reduce in regions)
  • changes in the food producing capacity
  • changes to the distribution of wildlife species
  • increasing frequency of storms
32
Q

What is a carbon footprint?

A

A measure of the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are released over the full life cycle of a product, service or event

33
Q

How do we reduce our carbon footprint?

A

By reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane

34
Q

How do we reduce CO2 emissions?

A
  • using less fossil fuels by using more renewables or nuclear energy
  • develop more efficient processes which use less energy
  • develop carbon capture and storage technology
35
Q

How do we reduce CH4 emissions?

A
  • reduce waste produced so less goes to landfill

- use more locally produced food

36
Q

What does carbon capture do?

A

Stores CO2 produced and stores it in porous underground rocks e.g. oil wells

37
Q

What can governments do to reduce emissions?

A

tax companies or individuals based on the amount of greenhouse gases they emit

38
Q

What are the difficulties with reducing carbon footprints?

A
  • the cost of developing new technology
  • governments are worried about introducing taxes or caps which could reduce economic growth
  • not all countries are willing to make the changes
  • not all companies want to increase the cost of their goods or services to reduce emissions as the customers may not want to pay for the increase
  • individuals do not always want to make change
39
Q

How is carbon dioxide produced?

A
  • combustion of coal (C)

- complete combustion of methane (CH4)

40
Q

What is carbon monoxide?

A

A colourless, odourless, tasteless gas produced in an incomplete combustion reaction

41
Q

How is carbon monoxide produced?

A
  • incomplete combustion of methane
42
Q

How is soot produced?

A
  • incomplete combustion of methane
43
Q

WHy is carbon monoxide toxic?

A
  • carbon monoxide attached onto haemoglobin in the red blood cells when breathed in
  • carbon monoxide cannot be released by haemoglobin
  • so cells suffocate and die and blood can’t pick up oxygen
44
Q

How did the amount of ammonia and methane decrease from the early atmosphere ?

A

The methane reacted with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water
The ammonia reacted with oxygen to form nitrogen and water

45
Q

Why are particulates releases from the incomplete combustion of methane bad?

A
  • if inhaled, they can get stuck in the lungs and cause damage leading to respiratory problems
  • they reflect sunlight back into space causing global dimming
46
Q

What are the products of the complete combustion of hydrocarbons ?

A

Carbon dioxide and water

47
Q

How is sulfur dioxide released from the combustion of fossil fuels?

A

Fossil fuels like coal contain sulfur impurities which become oxidised

48
Q

How are nitrogen oxides created (e.g. in the internal combustion engines in cars)?

A

The nitrogen and oxygen in the air react due to the increased heat from the burning

49
Q

What are the negatives of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides ?

A

When mixed with clouds, they form dilute sulfuric or nitric acid which falls as acid rain
Acid rain kills plants, marine animals, statues, buildings etc. Even corrodes metal
Gases can also cause respiratory problems if breathed in

AQA GCSE Chemistry (10 decks)

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