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Chemistry

Unit Activity

Unit 6: Kinetic Molecular Theory and Gas Laws
This Unit Activity will help you meet these educational goals:
 Science Inquiry— You will learn about the atmosphere by doing online research
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You will
communicate your results in written form
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Introduction
The eastern half of the United States is highly urbanized and industrialized
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According to the
National Surface Water Survey, about 14% of the lakes in the Adirondack Mountains in New
York and about 12% of streams in the mid-Atlantic Highlands have high acidity levels in their
water and are chronically acidic
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According to an estimate from the Canadian government, about 14,000 lakes in eastern
Canada are also acidic
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The burning of fossil fuels, such as diesel, gasoline, and
coal, release nitrogen and sulfur oxides into the atmosphere, contributing to acid rain
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How might everyday human activity affect our Earth and the diversity and quality of life here?
To begin to find some answers, you first need to know about the layers and composition of
the Earth’s atmosphere and how it supports life on Earth
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Both subjects
are based on a deep understanding of kinetic molecular theory and the behavior of gasses
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Without this shield, our planet would be about 33
degrees Celsius warmer than it is now and would not be able to support life! The atmosphere
blocks most of the harmful rays from the sun and traps heat within so that our days are not
too hot and nights are not too cold
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Then answer the questions below
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1
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Nitrogen accounts for 78% of the
atmosphere, oxygen 21% and argon 0
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Gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous
oxides, methane, and ozone are trace gases that account for about a tenth of one
percent of the atmosphere
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List in ascending order the different layers of atmosphere, their heights, and main
features
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It contains about 80% of the Earth's air, but extends
only to a height of about 11 miles (17 kilometers) at the Equator and less at the
Poles
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It extends to a height of about 30 miles
(50 kilometers) and includes the ozone layer
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Meteors generally burn up in this layer,
which extends to a height of about 52 miles (85 kilometers)
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It extends to about 430 miles (690
kilometers)
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Space is widely accepted now as starting at 100km above sea
level
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This part of the Earth's atmosphere extends
outward until it interacts with the solar wind
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3
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Type your response here: nitrogen (78%) , oxygen (21%) with only small
concentrations of other trace gases
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It ranges in thickness
from 8km at the poles to 16km over the equator
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Above the
2

troposphere is the stratosphere
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Hill walkers know that it will be
several degrees cooler on the top of a mountain than in the valley below
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It is primarily composed of nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%) with only
small concentrations of other trace gases
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The troposphere is the layer where most of the world's weather takes place
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In fact air
molecules can travel to the top of the troposphere and back down again in a just a
few days
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The troposphere is capped by the tropopause, a
region of stable temperature
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Such a temperature increase prevents much air convection beyond
the tropopause, and consequently most weather phenomena, including towering
cumulonimbus thunderclouds, are confined to the troposphere
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Such a situation is known as a temperature inversion
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Such atmospheric stability can
lead to air pollution episodes with air pollutants emitted at ground level becoming
trapped underneath the temperature inversion
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The remaining 1% of the atmospheric gases are known as trace gases
because they are present in such small concentrations
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Noble gases,
which also include neon, helium, krypton and xenon, are very inert and do not
generally engage in any chemical transformation within the atmosphere
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Despite their relative scarcity, the most important trace gases in the Earth's
atmosphere are the greenhouse gases
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Apart from water
vapour, the most abundant greenhouse gas (by volume) is carbon dioxide
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Through emissions of greenhouse gases
however, mankind has enhanced with natural greenhouse effect which may now be
leading to a warming of the Earth climate
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How does the kinetic theory of gases explain the weather changes happening in the
troposphere? You can also research on the Internet using keywords such as troposphere,
atmospheric layers, and weather changes
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Greenhouse gases are those gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect by
absorbing infrared radiation produced by solar warming of the Earth's surface
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Open the Greenhouse Effect simulation and select the Greenhouse effect tab
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Note that we can
determine the concentration of various atmospheric gasses during past eras by looking at
gases trapped in ancient ice, such as that found in Antarctica
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On the right hand side panel of the simulation, under “Atmosphere during,” you can select
Today, 1750, and Ice Age as historic time periods
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Now, gather the data and
answer the questions below
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Record the gas concentrations associated with each of these time periods
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Which time shows the lowest composition of all greenhouse gases?
Type your response here:

3
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Type your response here:

4
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5

Type your response here:

Now, select the Glass Layers tab
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Now, answer the following questions:

5
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How does the temperature change when a layer of glass is added?
Type your response here:

7
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10 points possible:
 Earth and Its Atmosphere: 5 points maximum
 Greenhouse Effect: 5 points maximum

6

Earth and Its Atmosphere
5 points

Describe the composition of the
atmosphere and its layers
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Greenhouse Effect
5 points

Observe, record, and describe
changes in the Earth’s atmosphere
over time
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Observe and describe how a
hypothetical pane of “greenhouse”
glass would affect the atmosphere

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