Combustion of fossil fuels continues to increase until it adds 3.809*10^13 kg’s of carbon to the atmosphere each year as CO2. How much CO2 would be added to the atmosphere in kgs? How much glucose could plants produce if they took up this entire mass of carbon? How many cubic meters would this mass of glucose occupy?
To calculate the amount of CO2 that would be added to the atmosphere, we first need to determine the molecular weight of CO2, which is 44.01 g/mol.
1. Amount of CO2 added per year in kgs:
3.809*10^13 kg * 44.01 g/mol = 1.676*10^15 g = 1.676*10^12 kg
2. To determine the amount of glucose that could be produced from this mass of carbon, we need to calculate the molar mass of glucose, which is 180.16 g/mol.
Amount of glucose produced:
1.676*10^12 kg * 1000 g/kg / 180.16 g/mol = 9.304*10^9 mol
3. To find the mass of glucose produced:
9.304*10^9 mol * 180.16 g/mol = 1.677*10^12 g = 1.677*10^9 kg
4. Finally, we can determine the volume of this mass of glucose. The density of glucose is approximately 1.54 g/cm^3.
Volume of glucose:
1.677*10^9 kg / 1.54 g/cm^3 = 1.089*10^9 cm^3 = 1.089*10^3 m^3
Therefore, the amount of CO2 added to the atmosphere would be 1.676*10^12 kg, and this mass of carbon could produce 1.677*10^9 kg of glucose, which would occupy 1.089*10^3 cubic meters.