Chemistry Of The Atmosphere Flashcards
(25 cards)
What planets are thought to be like earth’s early atmosphere?
Mars and Venus
For a product what does its carbon footprint include?
•Production
•Use of it
•Disposal of item
How can carbon footprint be reduced?
☆Different energy supplies like 🌞
☆Wasting less energy
☆Carbon capture+storage
☆Carbon off-setting
☆Encourage purchase of carbon neutral products
What is carbon offsetting ?
Plant enough trees to balance out the CO2 being produced
Problems with reducing CO2?
○Lack of knowledge in society
○Reluctance to change lifestyle
○High cost of producing alternative energy (economic)
Define carbon footprint?
Total amount of CO2 + other greenhouse gases that are emitted over the full life cycle of an event, product or service
Impacts of climate change?
•More servere + frequent
•Change in rainfall amount
•Drought
•Rise in sea level (floods+coastal errosion)
What is the atmosphere like now?
~20% oxygen and 80% nitrogen
~Amount of CO2 has greatly decreased
How is coal formed?
Sedimentary rock formed from plant deposits, buried and compressed over millions of years
What do the shells and skeletons pf sea creatures form?
calcium carbonate which is found in limestone
Decrease of CO2?
•Plants use for photosynthesis
•Locked in sedimentary rocks
•Reaction between CO2+sea water
What are the products produced from the reaction between sea water and CO2 ?
-Insoluble carbonates deposited as sediments
-Soluble hydrogen carbonates
How does dissolving CO2 in oceans cause harm?
Harm to marine life like coral reefs
Activities which increases methane levels?
☆Decomposition of rubbish, in landfill
☆Animal digestion
☆Animal waste decomposition
How does deforestation increase CO2 levels?
Fewer trees taking in CO2 for photosynthesis
How do greenhouse gases increase the earth’s temperature?
Absorbs outgoing infrared (heat) radiation
Name some greenhouse gases?
Carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane
Why was there an increase in oxygen levels that allowed animals to evolve?
•Plant photosynthesis = oxygen
•Plants evolved, amount if O2 rose
•Eventually enough O2 in atmosphere for animals to evolve
Things that shaped the oxygen and CO2 in the atmosphere?
•CO2 reduced as plants take it in and give out oxygen
•Microorganisms that can’t tolerate oxygen killed
•CO2 trapped in sedimentary rocks
How did nitrogen form in the atmosphere?
~Other gases react with oxygen to release nitrogen
~Nitrogen produced by bacteria removing nitrates from decaying plant material
How long ago did the earth form?
4.6 billion years ago
What would earth be like without greenhouse gases?
Too cold for water to be a liquid, wouldn’t be able to support life
Impact of humans?
~Increase in CO2 due to fossil fuels being burnt
~Fossil fuels contain locked carbon
~Burning them releases CO2 (carbon combines with oxygen)
How did volcanoes create the atmosphere?
~Released mainly CO2
~Ammonia,nitrogen, methane
~Water vapour condensed, formed oceans
