Chemistry of the atmosphere

• Approximately, how long had the modern atmosphere existed?

  200 million years.
• What is the primary gas in the atmosphere today?

  Nitrogen.
• How much nitrogen is in today’s atmosphere?

  78%
• How much oxygen is in todays atmosphere?

  21%
• How much argon is in todays atmosphere?

  Just under 1%
• How much carbon dioxide is in todays atmosphere?

  0.03/0.04%
• What plants did the earths atmosphere look similar too in the first billion years?

  Venus or Mars.
• What frequently released gases in the early days of earth?

  Volcanic eruptions released water vapour, carbon dioxide, and sulphur dioxide.
• What was the most abundant gasses in the early atmosphere?

  mostly carbon dioxide, then water vapour and some traces of methane and ammonia, nitrogen (from volcanos) but very little oxygen.
• How were oceans formed?

  Water vapour condensing into liquid water.
• What effect did oceans have in carbon dioxide?

  Oceans dissolved carbon dioxide forming solid carbonate sediments. This reduced the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leaving behind the nitrogen and other trace gasses
• Around 2.7 billion years ago what became agent and what was its effect?

  Plant life and algae became advent bringing the process of photosynthesis. This converted the atmospheres carbon dioxide into oxygen, decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and increasing the oxygen in the atmosphere driving evolution for around a billion years.
• what is acid rain?

  Rain that’s acidic due to dissolved gases such as sulphur dioxide produced from burning fossil fuels.
• define carbon footprint.

  The total amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product.
• What’s a fossil fuel?

  Natural fuels such as coal and gas formed in the remains of past living organisms.
• Name the greenhouses gases.

  Water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane.
• Define pollutant.

  A substance introduced into the environment that has undesired effects.
• Why has the greenhouse gas effect increased?

  Human activities.
• Why is the earths average temperature 15 degrees?

  Greenhouse effect.
• Without the greenhouse effect what would the temperature be?

  Colder.
• How does the greenhouse gas effect increase the average temperature?

  The gases in the atmosphere trap the heat from the sun preventing heat loss from the earths surface.
• What are the three stages of the greenhouse effect.


  Shortwave solar radiation travels from the sun to the earth. This radiation passes through the atmosphere and is absorbed the the planets surface. The warm surface then radiates longleave thermal radiation into the atmosphere. This long wave radiation is absorbed by green house gassed preventing it escaping back into space. These greenhouse gases re-radiate the long wave radiation back towards the earth. This process traps heat from the sun at the surface of the earth rising the average surface temperature.
• Which historical event has led to a rise in carbon emission?

  Industrial Revolution.
• give some examples of human activities that contributed to the increase in greenhouse gases.

  Motor transport, industrial manufacturing, air travel, and shipping.
• Why can natural processes not counteract human driven emissions?

  Photosynthesis does remove some Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but industrial processes such as deforestation and farming reduce these processes.
• Why is deforestation happening?

  Demand for land/resources e.g feedstock for cattle.
• What’s the effect of deforestation?

  Removes a large number of trees that could have converted carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.
• What is controlled burning and why is it bad?

  Controlled burning is the deliberate starting of forest fires. Burning plant matter releases a lot of stored Carbon dioxide back into the air.
• What are the effects of farming?

  Animal waste increases methane levels. rice farming generates a lot of methane through the decomposition of organic matter in flooded rice paddies.
• What is climate change?

  Climate change refers to the collection of changed in the temperature, weather, and atmosphere of the plant resulting an increasingly sting greenhouse effect.
• state some examples of climate change.

  rising average global temoeratures

  loss of ice in polar regains due to warming

  mote extreme variations of seasonal temperatures

  Increased extreme weather

  more frequent weather based natural disasters: hurricanes, flooding, forest fires and droughts

  increasing desertification
• What are the secondary effects of climate Change?

  Damage to energy infrastructure, extinction of many species, displacement of people and the spread of more infectious diseases.
• What is an argument people make against human induced climate change?

  That it is a natural process that has previously happened or it’s not happening at all but the evidence given often misinterpret data, lack evidence, ignore the speed and extent or it and are heavily biased unlike studies that disprove this theory.
• Compare the just after the ice age to modern global temperatures.

  Global temperatures rose by about 3 degrees over 5000 years whilst in the last century alone global temperutes have risen by 0.7 degrees showing warming events are happening at a much faster rate
• state the carbon footprint stages.

  Manufacturing

  distribution

  packaging

  (repairs)

  disposal
• state some ways individuals can reduce their carbon footprint.

  Avoiding unnecessary consumption (cut down manufacturing and disposal)

  Use of public transport

  turning off the lights in empty tooms

  boiling enough water needed rather than mire

  only running electrical goods being used
• How can bigger carbon footprints that come from corporations and governments be reduced?

  Public pressure : letters, publicising information, encouragement if greener policies.
• how are atmospheric pollutants released?

  Combustion of fossil fuels.
• Why are atmospheric pollutants harmful?

  they can damage human health or the environment e.g. acid rain. Damages can effect both natural and man-made environments.
• Complete combustion releases two major pollutants. what are they?

  Carbon dioxide and water vapou because of the oxidation of fossil fuels (made of hydrocarbons)