Air is composed of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and other gasses. How may air be best described?
What is a mixture? What is a homogenous mixture?
Air can be best described as a mixture of gases that surround the Earth's atmosphere. The composition of air varies, but the primary gases present in dry air include nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen (about 21%), argon (about 0.93%), carbon dioxide (about 0.04%), and trace amounts of other gases such as neon, helium, methane, and hydrogen.
To determine the composition of air, scientific methods such as air sampling and analysis are employed. These methods involve collecting air samples using specialized equipment, such as air samplers or gas analyzers. The collected samples are then analyzed in a laboratory using techniques like gas chromatography or mass spectrometry to measure the relative amounts of each gas present in the air.
By analyzing the composition of air, scientists can gain insights into the quality of the atmosphere, study atmospheric conditions, and understand the impact of human activities on air pollution and climate change.