Skip to main content
Sign in Register
Question no. 37089

Which gas constitutes the greatest proportion of Earth's atmosphere?

Select your answer for: Which gas constitutes the greatest proportion of Earth's atmosphere?
Show answer

Answer: A. Nitrogen

Explanation

Nitrogen gas accounts for approximately seventy-eight percent of the total volume of Earth's atmosphere. It remains abundant because it is a relatively inert gas that does not easily react with other elements. This high atmospheric concentration provides a stable gaseous buffer surrounding all terrestrial life forms. Earth's atmosphere is a complex mixture of various gases held in place by planetary gravitational forces. Atmospheric nitrogen plays a crucial role in the global biogeochemical cycle despite most organisms needing fixation. Specialized soil bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into usable ammonia compounds that plants absorb for growth.

Hydrogen is an extremely light gas that escapes Earth's gravity easily and exists only in trace atmospheric amounts. Nickel is a heavy metallic solid found in Earth's crust rather than a gaseous component of the atmosphere. Oxygen constitutes approximately twenty-one percent of the atmosphere, making it the second most abundant atmospheric gas.

Category
Everyday Science
Topic
—
Difficulty
medium

Related questions

Q1. What chemical element was first detected on the sun roughly 151 years ago during a total solar eclipse?

Select your answer for: What chemical element was first detected on the sun roughly 151 years ago during a total solar eclipse?
Show answer

Answer: B. Helium

Helium was first detected in 1868 through spectroscopic analysis of sunlight during a solar eclipse, before it was found on Earth. French astronomer Pierre Janssen observed an unknown yellow spectral line in solar radiat...

Q2. What is identified as the hardest biological tissue in the human body?

Select your answer for: What is identified as the hardest biological tissue in the human body?
Show answer

Answer: A. Tooth enamel

Tooth enamel is identified as the hardest and most highly mineralized biological tissue in the human body. Its exceptional hardness is due to a very high concentration of crystalline calcium phosphate mineral structures....

Q3. Which material is widely recognized by the moniker ‘Lifeblood of industries’?

Select your answer for: Which material is widely recognized by the moniker ‘Lifeblood of industries’?
Show answer

Answer: A. Finance

Finance is widely described as the lifeblood of industries because capital drives all commercial enterprise activities. Without adequate monetary funding, businesses cannot purchase raw materials, pay employees, or fund...

Q4. Which category of blood cells is metaphorically called the ‘Soldiers’ of the body ?

Select your answer for: Which category of blood cells is metaphorically called the ‘Soldiers’ of the body ?
Show answer

Answer: A. WBC

White blood cells (WBCs) defend the body against infections and disease, earning them the nickname of the body's soldiers. These specialized immune cells patrol the circulatory system and tissues to actively hunt down an...

Q5. Which chemical element accounts for the highest percentage by mass in the human body?

Select your answer for: Which chemical element accounts for the highest percentage by mass in the human body?
Show answer

Answer: A. Oxygen 65%

Oxygen accounts for the highest percentage by mass in the human body at roughly sixty five percent. This high percentage occurs because the human body is mostly composed of water molecules. Each water molecule contains o...

Q6. Which astronomical body is traditionally considered the outermost planet in our solar system?

Select your answer for: Which astronomical body is traditionally considered the outermost planet in our solar system?
Show answer

Answer: C. Neptune

Neptune stands as the outermost major planet in our solar system following Pluto's reclassification. Orbiting at a vast distance from the Sun, Neptune marks the boundary of the eight official major planets. Astronomical...