In: Chemistry
Photosynthesis by land plants leads to the fixation each year of about 1 kg of carbon on the average for each square meter of an actively growing forest. THe atmosphere is approximately 20% O2 and 80% N2 but contains 0.0390% CO2 by volume.
a) What volume of air (25o C, 1 bar) is needed to provide this 1 kg of carbon?
b) How much carbon is present in the entire atmospehre lying above each square meter of earth's surface? (Hint: remember that atmospehreic pressure is the consequence of the force exerted by all the air above the surface; 1 bar is equivalent to 1.020X104 kg m-2.)
c) At the current rate of utilization, how long would it take to use all the CO2 in the entire atmospehre above the forest? (This assumes that atmosphereic circulation and replesnishment from the oceans, rocks, combustion of fuels, respiration of animals, and decay of biological materials are cut off)