Gases in the Atmosphere Flashcards
What did plants take up from the Earth’s early atmosphere?
Carbon dioxide
Where did much of the carbon end up?
Animals ate the plants and much of the carbon ended up in plant and animal remains as sedimentary rock and fossil fuels
How was limestone formed?
From the shells and skeletons of marine organisms
What do fossil fuels contain?
Carbon and hydrogen from plants and animals
What did carbon dioxide do?
It dissolved into the ocean and formed insoluble carbonate compounds that were deposited onto the sea bed and became sedimentary rocks
How long did it take for the proportions of gases in the atmosphere to stabilise?
200 million years
What gases are in the atmosphere now?
Four-fifths nitrogen, and one-fifth oxygen, and 1% of the gases like water vapour, carbon dioxide and noble gases
How can gases be separated from liquid air?
By fractional distillation
What is fractional distillation done to produce?
Pure oxygen and liquid nitrogen
Why can gases in the air be separated by fractional distillation?
Because they all have different boiling points
