Chemistry of the Atmosphere
What's covered
Key facts
Sulfur dioxide is the pollutant that causes acid rain.
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse-gas emissions across the life cycle of an activity or product.
Argon makes up most (~0.93 %) of the remaining 1 % of air.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) separates CO₂ from power-station flue gas and injects it into deep geological formations.
CO₂ was locked into rock as limestone (calcium carbonate from marine shells) and into fossil fuels (from photosynthesising plants and plankton that died and were buried).
Carbon monoxide is a colourless pollutant that binds irreversibly to haemoglobin, reducing oxygen transport.
Carbon offsetting is paying for activities that absorb the same amount of CO₂ as you have emitted.
The proportion of carbon dioxide in today's atmosphere is less than 1 % (about 0.04 %).
Consequences of global warming include rising sea levels from melting polar ice and thermal expansion, and more frequent extreme weather events.
Two parallel processes reduced atmospheric CO₂: dissolution in oceans, and photosynthesis followed by burial of biomass.
Sample questions
A taste of the 60 questions in this topic — answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
How does sulfur dioxide (SO₂) form?
- ✓Burning sulfur-containing fuels; SO₂ dissolves in rain forming acid rain
- •From anaerobic respiration in waterlogged soils; causes photochemical smog
- •From N₂ + O₂ at high temperatures in engines; thins the ozone layer
- •From volcanoes only; absorbed by oceans before causing any damage
What is a carbon footprint?
- •Carbon in soil under one footprint
- •Mass of carbon stored in a tree
- •Only CO₂ released by burning petrol
- ✓Total greenhouse gases across life cycle
Which gas makes up most of the remaining 1% of air?
- ✓Argon
- •Helium
- •Krypton
- •Neon
Which gases are the main greenhouse gases?
- ✓Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour
- •Hydrogen, helium, ozone
- •Nitrogen, oxygen, argon
- •Sulfur dioxide, ozone, krypton
What process produced oxygen in the early atmosphere?
- •Asteroid impacts burning carbon
- •Lightning splitting nitrogen apart
- ✓Photosynthesis by algae
- •Volcanic eruptions releasing oxygen
Which pollutant causes acid rain?
- •Argon noble gas
- •Carbon dioxide gas
- •Methane vapour
- ✓Sulfur dioxide gas
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