Properties of carbon dioxideThere are several physical and chemical properties, which belong to carbon dioxide.
Where on earth do we find carbon dioxide?Carbon dioxide can be found mainly in air, but also in water as a part of the carbon cycle. We can show you how the carbon cycle works, by means of an explanation and a schematic representation. --> Move to the Carbon Cycle. Applications of carbon dioxide by humansHumans use carbon dioxide in many different ways. The most familiar
example is its use in soft drinks and beer, to make them fizzy. Carbon dioxide released by baking powder or yeast makes cake batter rise. The part carbon dioxide plays in environmental processesCarbon dioxide is one of the most abundant gasses in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide plays an important part in vital plant and animal process, such as photosynthesis and respiration. These processes will be briefly explained here. Green plants convert carbon dioxide and water into food compounds, such as glucose, and oxygen. This process is called photosynthesis. The reaction of photosynthesis is as follows: Plants and animals, in turn, convert the food compounds by combining it with oxygen to release energy for growth and other life activities. This is the respiration process, the reverse of photosynthesis. The respiration reaction is as follows: Photosynthesis and respiration play an important role in the carbon cycle and are at equilibrium with one another. Influence of carbon dioxide on alkalinity Carbon dioxide can change the pH of water. This is how it works: Carbon dioxide dissolves slightly in water to form a weak acid called carbonic acid, H2CO3, according to the following reaction: After that, carbonic acid reacts slightly and reversibly in water to form a hydronium cation, H3O+, and the bicarbonate ion, HCO3-, according to the
following reaction: This chemical behaviour explains why water, which normally has a neutral pH of 7 has an acidic pH of approximately 5.5 when it has been exposed to air. Carbon dioxide emissions by humans
Environmental problems - the greenhouse effectThe troposphere is the lower part of the atmosphere, of about 10-15 kilometres thick. Within the troposphere there are gasses called greenhouse gasses. When sunlight reaches the earth, some of it is converted to heat. Greenhouse gasses absorb some of the heat and trap it near the earth's surface, so that the earth is warmed up. This process, commonly known as the
greenhouse effect, has been discovered many years ago and was later confirmed by means of laboratory experiments and atmospheric measurements. Since the industrial revolution in 1850 began, human processes have been causing emissions of greenhouse gasses, such as CFC's and carbon dioxide. This has caused an environmental problem: the amounts of greenhouse gasses grew so extensively, that the earth's climate is changing because the temperatures are rising. This unnatural addition to the greenhouse effect is known as global warming. It is suspected that global warming may cause increases in storm activity, Melting of ice caps on the poles, which will cause flooding of the inhabited continents, and other environmental problems. Together with hydrogen, carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas. However, hydrogen is not emitted during industrial processes. Humans do not contribute to the hydrogen amount in the air, this is only changing naturally during the hydrological cycle, and as a result it is not a cause of global
warming. In the previous paragraph various human activities that contribute to the emission of carbon dioxide gas have been mentioned. Of these activities fossil fuel combustion for energy generation causes about 70-75% of the carbon dioxide emissions, being the main source of carbon dioxide emissions. The remaining 20-25% of
the emissions are caused by land clearing and burning and by emission from motor vehicle exhausts. The first person who predicted that emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels and other burning processes would cause global warming was Svante Arrhenius, who published the paper "On the influence of carbonic acid in the air upon the temperature of the ground" in 1896.
Rising carbon dioxide concentrations in air in the past decades The Kyoto treaty World leaders gathered in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997 to consider a world treaty restricting emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly of carbon dioxide, that are thought to cause global warming. Unfortunately, while the Kyoto treaties have worked for a while America is now trying to evade them. Carbon dioxide and healthCarbon dioxide is
essential for internal respiration in a human body. Internal respiration is a process, by which oxygen is transported to body tissues and carbon dioxide is carried away from them. Apart from being an essential buffer in the human system, carbon dioxide is also known to cause health effects when the concentrations exceed a certain limit. The primary health dangers of carbon dioxide are: . Caused by the
release of carbon dioxide in a confined or unventilated area. This can lower the concentration of oxygen to a level that is immediately dangerous for human health. . Solid carbon dioxide is always below -78 oC at regular atmospheric pressure, regardless of the air temperature. Handling this material for more than a second or two without proper protection can cause serious blisters, and other unwanted effects. Carbon dioxide gas released from a steel
cylinder, such as a fire extinguisher, causes similar effects. . This is caused by a disturbance in chemical equilibrium of the carbonate buffer. When carbon dioxide concentrations increase or decrease, causing the equilibrium to be disturbed, a life threatening situation may occur. What are 5 ways carbon is released into the atmosphere?Carbon is released back into the atmosphere when organisms die, volcanoes erupt, fires blaze, fossil fuels are burned, and through a variety of other mechanisms.
What are 4 ways carbon enters the atmosphere?Burning fossil fuels, changing land use, and using limestone to make concrete all transfer significant quantities of carbon into the atmosphere.
How is carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere?Carbon dioxide (CO2): Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil), solid waste, trees and other biological materials, and also as a result of certain chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement).
What are 3 activities that release carbon dioxide?Burning fossil fuels, releasing chemicals into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of forest cover, and the rapid expansion of farming, development, and industrial activities are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and changing the balance of the climate system.
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