Diokno, Ulshua G.

11- Isaac
Introduction
Atmosphere: Composition of Gases Made Out in Layer
Atmosphere refers to the layer of gases that surrounds Earth and is held in place by Earth’s
gravitational attraction (gravity). The mix of gases in the atmosphere forms a complex system
organized into layers that together support life on Earth.

Before the early 1800’s scientists didn’t know that the earth is composed of 3 different gases
until a scientist named John Dalton discovered that the Earth’s Atmosphere is composed of
three different gases and that is nitrogen, oxygen, and lastly argon. Actually, the gases on the
Earth’s Atmosphere does not only contain three gases but it contains ten types of gases except
for nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. Our Atmosphere also contains 0.0314% Carbon Dioxide,
0.001818%, Neon, 0.0002% Methane, 0.000524% Helium, 0.000114% Krypton, 0.00005%
Hydrogen, 0.0000087% Xenon and that only adds up to 0.0001% of Earth’s Atmosphere.

Based on thermal features (temperature variations), chemical composition, movement, and

density, Earth's atmosphere is separated into four distinct layers (Figure 6.1). The troposphere is
the lowest layer, rising, depending on location, from the surface up to around 18 km above the
surface (varies from as low as 6 km to as high as 20 km). Through convection currents, air is
constantly moving and whirling, spreading heat and moisture across the world. The brief and
localized patterns of warmth and moisture that we refer to as weather are the outcome of this.
The troposphere, which makes up about 75% of the total mass of the atmosphere, is the densest
of all levels because gravity keeps the majority of air molecules close to the surface of the Earth.

Nitrogen, oxygen, and argon make up the Earth's atmosphere in that order. By mass, water vapor
makes up around 0.25% of the atmosphere. While concentrations of other atmospheric gases are
typically quoted in terms of dry air (without water vapor), the concentration of water vapor (a
greenhouse gas) varies significantly from approximately 10 ppm by mole fraction in the coldest
portions of the atmosphere to as much as 5% by mole fraction in hot, humid air masses. The
remaining gases are frequently referred to as trace gases, among which are other greenhouse
gases, primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Other noble gases like neon,
helium, krypton, and xenon are present in addition to the above-mentioned argon. The average
molecular weight of dry air, which can be used to calculate densities or to convert between mole
fraction and mass fraction, is about 28.946 or 28.96 g/mol. This is decreased when the air is
humid.
The relative concentration of gases remains constant until about 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
Three-quarters of the atmosphere's mass, 5.15 1018 kg, is located within 11 km (6.8 mi; 36,000
ft) of the surface. With rising altitude, the atmosphere grows thinner, and there is no clear
separation between it and space. The boundary between the atmosphere and outer space is
frequently defined as the Kármán line, which is 100 km (62 mi) long and represents 1.57% of the
radius of the Earth. At a height of around 120 km, atmospheric effects become discernible during
atmospheric reentry of spacecraft (75 mi). Based on factors like temperature and composition,
the atmosphere can be divided into several levels.

Despite being both necessary for human life to exist on the planet, oxygen and nitrogen have
little impact on weather and other atmospheric processes. The atmosphere's changeable
components, which make up much less than 1% of it, have a significantly higher impact on both
the short- and long-term weather. For instance, fluctuations in atmospheric water vapor are
known to us as relative humidity. Without these so-called greenhouse gases, the Earth's surface
would be about 30 degrees Celsius colder - too cold for life as we know it to exist. Water vapor,
CO2, CH4, N2O, and SO2 all have an important property: they absorb heat emitted by Earth and
warm the atmosphere, creating what we call the "greenhouse effect."

The atmosphere also includes particulate matter, such as dust, volcanic ash, rain, and snow, in
addition to gases. Of course, these are incredibly varied and typically less durable than gas
concentrations, although they occasionally linger in the atmosphere for quite a while. For more
than a year, the skies were clouded by volcanic ash from the Philippines' Mt. Pinatubo eruption
in 1991. Even while the atmosphere's main elements are largely constant now, during the course
of Earth's history—roughly 4.6 billion years—they have undergone significant alteration. The
majority of geologists believe that nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide were the principal
components of the early atmosphere, which was far from the life-supporting blanket of air that it
is today. Free oxygen was absent. Until around 2 billion years ago, when photosynthesizing
microorganisms first developed and started consuming atmospheric carbon dioxide and releasing
oxygen, there is no evidence that free oxygen existed in the atmosphere.

Reactive gases (gases that undergo chemical reactions) like ozone and ozone-forming substances
like nitrous oxides cause relatively transient changes to our environment. However, carbon
dioxide is a separate species. After being released into the atmosphere, it remains there for a very
long time—between 300 and 1,000 years. As a result, the effects of humans' emissions of carbon
dioxide on the atmosphere will last for many human lifetimes.
Dry air has a mole fraction of 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon
dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases. Water vapor is also present in air, with an average
concentration of 0.4% in the entire atmosphere and 1% at sea level. Altitude affects atmospheric
pressure, temperature, and air quality. Only the Earth's troposphere contains atmospheric air that
may be used by terrestrial plants for photosynthesis and by mammals for breathing. Early Earth's
atmosphere was made up mostly of hydrogen-rich gases from the solar nebula. Over time, the
atmosphere underwent substantial change as a result of numerous variables including
weathering, life, and volcanism. Recent atmospheric changes like global warming, ozone
depletion, and acid deposition have also been influenced by human activities.

Body
While most life on Earth requires oxygen, oxygen does not make up the bulk of the planet's
atmosphere. About 78% of the gases in the Earth's atmosphere are nitrogen, 21% are oxygen, 0.9
% are argon, and 0.1 % are other gases. The remaining 0.1 percent of gases includes trace
amounts of neon, water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, and methane.

Based on temperature, the atmosphere is separated into five distinct strata. The troposphere,
which is located between five and ten miles (or seven and 15 kilometers) above Earth's surface,
is the layer that is closest to the surface. The troposphere is significantly thinner near the North
and South Poles than it is at the equator. The troposphere, which makes up between 75 and 80
percent of the total atmosphere, is where the majority of its mass is located. The troposphere
contains the majority of the water vapor in the atmosphere as well as dust and ash particles,
which explains why the majority of Earth's clouds are found here. With altitude, tropospheric
temperatures drop.

Nitrogen (N2), which makes up around 78% of air, is the most prevalent naturally occurring gas.
At around 21%, oxygen (O2) is the second most common gas. At 0.93%, the inert gas argon (Ar)
is the third most prevalent gas. Additionally, the atmosphere contains minute amounts of nitrous
oxide (NO), xenon (Xe), hydrogen (H2), krypton (Kr), neon (Ne), helium (He), methane (CH4),
carbon monoxide (CO), and ammonia (NH3).
What are the other things that our Atmosphere contains?

Water (H2O) Vapor

The water cycle causes a continuous change in the amount of water in the atmosphere. In regions
close to the tropics, the lower troposphere can contain up to 4% water vapor (H2O), whereas the
poles only have tiny levels of water vapor. With altitude, water vapor concentration sharply
declines. The thermosphere has no water vapor at all, the stratosphere and mesosphere have
almost no water vapor, and the upper troposphere has less water vapor than air close to the
surface.

Aerosols
Aerosols, which are little solid particles that are found in air, also include dust, salt from the sea,
and volcanic ash from forest fires or eruptions. Numerous of these particles are tiny because they
are so little. There are others that are visible. Aerosols have an impact on climate by promoting
the formation of clouds and shading the earth by reflecting or absorbing sunlight. As particulate
matter spews from smokestacks and exhaust pipes, the development and widespread usage of
combustion engines has led to an increase in aerosols in the atmosphere over the past century.
Particles are also released into the air by burning wood and other materials.

Atmospheric Chemistry
The air contains chemicals, much like everything else on Earth. Through chemical reactions, the
chemicals in the air frequently interact with one another or with substances from the Earth's
surface. A large number of these chemical processes are essential for plants and animals as well
as helping to maintain healthy natural habitats. Nitrogen gas does essentially nothing in the
atmosphere, yet it is necessary for life elsewhere on Earth. Nitrogen enters soil and water via the
nitrogen cycle, where it interacts with other elements to form compounds that living beings can
utilize. Oxygen from the atmosphere is used by people and animals for cellular respiration,
which aids in the breakdown of materials and releases nutrients into soils.

The harm that gases can cause

Human-made chemicals that have a harmful impact on the environment and human health also
influence the atmospheric chemistry in the troposphere. For instance:

Along with other harmful pollutants like carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide, vehicle exhaust
also contains nitrogen dioxide. When atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen dioxide combine,
tropospheric ozone is created, which is harmful to plant and animal cells.

Both humans and animals' lungs are harmed by smog, which is mostly composed of ozone and
particulate carbon (soot) released by coal-burning power plants.
Burning fossil fuels releases sulfur and nitrogen dioxides, which react with atmospheric water to
form acid rain. Environments created by humans and nature both suffer damage from acid rain.

The Evolution of the Earth’s Atmosphere

Although nothing is known about the history of the Earth's atmosphere before a billion years
ago, the following scenario is a believable series of occurrences. There is still study being done
in this area.

In order to distinguish the modern atmosphere from two significantly different past
compositions, it is sometimes referred to as Earth's "third atmosphere." Helium and hydrogen
made up the majority of the first atmosphere. This atmosphere was evaporated by heat from the
still-molten crust, the sun, and possibly an intensified solar wind.

When the crust first formed about 4.4 billion years ago, the surface was still densely inhabited
with volcanoes that were still erupting steam, carbon dioxide, and ammonia.

Cyanobacteria were one of the first kinds of bacteria. Fossil data suggests that the first oxygen-
producing developing phototropic creatures were bacteria with this morphology that lived around
3.3 billion years ago. They were in charge of the original transition of the earth's atmosphere
from anoxic to toxic, or from an oxygen-free state to an oxygen-containing state, between 2.7
and 2.2 billion years ago. As the first organisms to engage in oxygenic photosynthesis, they were
able to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, which significantly contributed to the ozone layer's
occlusion.

Later on, photosynthetic plants would develop and increase the conversion of carbon dioxide to
oxygen. Over time, more carbon was sequestered in sedimentary rocks (especially limestone),
fossil fuels, and animal shells. As more plants emerged, the oxygen levels rose sharply and the
carbon dioxide levels fell. After combining initially with several elements (including iron),
oxygen gradually accumulated in the atmosphere, leading to mass extinctions and continued
evolution. Lifeforms were better shielded from ultraviolet radiation with the development of an
ozone layer (ozone is an allotrope of oxygen). The "third atmosphere" is this mixture of oxygen
and nitrogen.

Geological processes as well as oceanic blue-green algae regulate the composition of the current
atmosphere. In contrast to CO2, which is typically produced by respiration, decomposition, and
oxidation of organic matter, O2 is typically consumed by animals, microorganisms, and even
land plants at night in an atmosphere instead of remaining naturally free. Chemical reactions
would cause oxygen to disappear within a few million years, while CO2, which easily dissolves
in water, would disappear within millennia if not supplied. Both are kept at a reasonable level
over millions of years by geological processes and biological productivity that appear to be
functioning together.

Conclusion

The layers of gases surrounding a planet or other celestial body is called “Atmosphere “and our
atmosphere contains 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.93 percent Argon, 0.04 percent
carbon dioxide as well as trace amounts of neon, helium, methane, krypton, ozone and hydrogen,
as well as water vapor.
With argon, carbon dioxide, helium, neon, and other gases making up only trace amounts,
nitrogen and oxygen make up 99 percent of the gases in dry air. Significant connections exist
between nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide and life. For example, respiration and
photosynthesis are two processes that exchange oxygen between the atmosphere and living
things.

In addition to providing us with the oxygen we need to survive, it shields us from dangerous UV
solar radiation. Without it, the pressure needed for liquid water to exist on the surface of our
planet would not be possible. Additionally, it warms our planet and maintains Earth's habitable
range.

Earth had almost no atmosphere when it formed 4.6 billion years ago from a hot mixture of
gases and solids. The ground had melted on it. An atmosphere developed as Earth cooled,
primarily from gases released by volcanoes. It contained methane, hydrogen sulfide, and ten to
200 times as much carbon dioxide as the atmosphere we are surrounded by today.