The Earth’s early atmosphere was different from that of the Earth’s atmosphere today - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry Combined Science - Question 1 - 2016 - Paper 1
Question 1
The Earth’s early atmosphere was different from that of the Earth’s atmosphere today.
(a) The Earth’s early atmosphere was formed by
☐ A animals breathing.
☐ B glo... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The Earth’s early atmosphere was different from that of the Earth’s atmosphere today - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry Combined Science - Question 1 - 2016 - Paper 1
Step 1
Identify the composition of gas X
96%
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Answer
From Figure 1, gas X constitutes 95% of the Earth’s early atmosphere, suggesting that it played a significant role during that time.
Step 2
Analyze the percentage in today's atmosphere
99%
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Answer
In today’s atmosphere, gas X is shown to be only 0.04%, indicating a drastic reduction over time.
Step 3
Infer the identity of gas X
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Answer
Given its high concentration in the early atmosphere and low concentration today, gas X is likely to be carbon dioxide (CO2). This aligns with scientific understanding that Earth's early atmosphere was rich in CO2 due to volcanic activity and lacks in oxygen.
