Question

21. While a teacher was teaching her class about air and oxygen she emphasised the importance of nitrogen in the atmosphere. A student named Vivek asked the teacher, What would happen if the percentages of nitrogen and oxygen were interchanged in the atmosphere? The teacher praised him for the question and explained it. What was the teacher's explanation?

Answer 1

Part 1: Air

• Air is a mixture of gases like nitrogen $\left({\mathrm{N}}_2\right)$, oxygen $\left({\mathrm{O}}_2\right)$, Carbon dioxide $\left({\mathrm{CO}}_2\right)$, water vapors, and trace amounts of inert gases.
• In the air, nitrogen and oxygen occupy 78% and 21% of the total volume of air respectively.

Part 2: If percentages of nitrogen and oxygen were interchanged in the atmosphere:

If the percentage of nitrogen and oxygen are interchanged in the atmosphere, then following changes will be seen:

• If the percentage of oxygen and nitrogen interchanged, the amount of oxygen become 78%.
• The probability of fires would greatly increase, resulting in a significant reduction in oxygen and a significant increase in CO₂.
• This leads to difficulty in extinguishing fires.
• The rate of corrosion of metals will increase.
• The increased oxygen in the air increases the rate of respiration which can affect human health.
• That level of oxygen concentration is unsustainable in the long run, and it would inevitably decline.