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Earth and atmospheric science

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Question 14

A geochemist prepares two sealed chambers, Chamber A and Chamber B, containing simulated atmospheres. One chamber mimics the atmosphere of early Earth (approximately 4 billion years ago), while the other mimics Earth's modern atmosphere.

To identify the contents of each chamber, the geochemist performs two diagnostic tests on gas samples of equal volume:

  1. Turbidity Test: The gas is bubbled through a saturated calcium hydroxide solution (limewater). The time taken for the mixture to reach a turbidity of 50 NTU (cloudiness threshold) is recorded.
  2. Copper Oxidation Test: The gas is passed repeatedly over a heated copper spiral to react all oxygen into solid copper(II) oxide. The percentage decrease in the total gas volume is measured.

The experimental results are recorded in the table below:

TestChamber AChamber B
Time to reach 50 NTU4.2 seconds285.0 seconds
Percentage volume contraction0.2%20.8%

Explain, using the data in the table, which chamber contains the simulated gas mixture representing Earth's early atmosphere.

[2]

Earth and atmospheric science Questions

  1. GCSE
  2. /Chemistry
  3. /Earth and atmospheric science

Practise Edexcel GCSE Chemistry Earth and atmospheric science with exam-style questions for Foundation and Higher tier. 62 questions, matched to the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry (1CH0) specification and written in Paper 1 and Paper 2 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.

Question bank