View Full Version : Why is there so little oxygen in air?
Peekay
10-05-2004, 07:10 AM
Why is there so little oxygen in air? I really want to know. Why, as one of the most complicated forms of life on earth are we so dependent upon such an impure gas? And, if we have to be reliant on breathing, why is it that we rely on one of the lesser available elements in this gas. Surely we would be better off using something such as nitrogen, one of the more prevalant gases in air. In fact why do we need to breath? Why can't we just absorb ALL our necessary nutrients from our food, or better still just pick it up at birth?:eek:
whispers
10-05-2004, 07:12 AM
better still why are we not green an absorb sun light
Peekay
10-05-2004, 07:18 AM
We don't absorb sunlight because we dont contain enough chlorophyll hence we aren't green. Perhaps you would didn't realise that this is why we aren't green!
backtothelab
10-05-2004, 07:18 AM
Does it matter? It's worked fine so far, why re-invent the wheel?
whispers
10-05-2004, 07:22 AM
well then you should know that we need oxygen to oxidize the carbohydrates to produce the energy to move and live
Peekay
10-05-2004, 07:31 AM
This leads to 2 questions.
1. Is living really worth all this effort in breathing, moving as such like.
2. Why are we stuck with such a peculiar method of transporting energy to our muscles (by the way i would like to add that i have an AK47 pointed at my head and i am scared?)
whispers
10-05-2004, 07:37 AM
This leads to 2 questions.
1. Is living really worth all this effort in breathing, moving as such like.
2. Why are we stuck with such a peculiar method of transporting energy to our muscles (by the way i would like to add that i have an AK47 pointed at my head and i am scared?)
1)I don't know I never tried living any other way, though I here some dude in india has not eaten for 50 years, could be another conspiracy by our governments making us breath.
2)It all has to do with that first microganism, went down hill from there.
also threaten to shoot yourself will not make me type faster.
Peekay
10-05-2004, 07:40 AM
i must add i am not aiming at myself but being held against my will and being forced to drink increasing amounts of alchoholic substances. I have been trapped here since 6:30 last night and am looking for a method of escape which does not include breathing.
Ellied
10-05-2004, 10:37 PM
why not? lol xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Why is there so little oxygen in air? I really want to know. Why, as one of the most complicated forms of life on earth are we so dependent upon such an impure gas? And, if we have to be reliant on breathing, why is it that we rely on one of the lesser available elements in this gas. Surely we would be better off using something such as nitrogen, one of the more prevalant gases in air. In fact why do we need to breath? Why can't we just absorb ALL our necessary nutrients from our food, or better still just pick it up at birth?:eek:Dont you have biology classes? The ratio of oxygen is not less or much. It's just right (thinking human centric, it might (have) be(en) too less or much for the dinosaurs). If there were more oxygen in the air, than nitrogen and CO2, then we would literally burn.
Oxygen is a very flammable gas. We burn the nutrients in food with it.
How?
Here's a simple answer: We eat and digest the nutrients and send them to our bowels. With the chemicals in it, bowels break these food particules into much smaller forms which are absorbed by the cells. These cells use the oxygen in blood and mix it with water (it also has oxygen it it), glucose (sugar) and CO2 and turn it into ATP (a chemical form of energy) and send and store it in the mitochondria that they have ("a cellular battery"). Thats why food with glucose -sugar- give us rather more energy.
By the way, oxygen is not relatively less in nature. Almost everything can bind with oxygen becuase oxygen has very loose atomic binding (less cohesion within) and gives out its subatomic elements (electrones i suppose) easier than most other atoms.The action of giving out an atom's elements to another one is called forming a molecule. For eg. oxygen gives out its elements (or carbon attracts oxygen's elements) and they form the gas carbondioxide. That is
1 carbon and (di=two) oxygen atoms= CO2
Now a question for you: What happens if a Hydrogen atom, attracts 2 Oxygen atoms. What do we call it?
Ps: There's a hint in bowels ;)
And a word of advice: dont go with the question "WHY?" go with the question "HOW?"
Alomiakoda
10-05-2004, 11:56 PM
Now a question for you: What happens if a Hydrogen atom, attracts 2 Oxygen atoms. What do we call it?
I have no idea but I don't think it would be very stable :p
actually i asked the question wrong it should be 2 hydrogen atoms attracting 1 oxygen :&
Alomiakoda
10-06-2004, 12:09 AM
Hehehe.
Then you'd get water. Or Dihydrogen Oxide if you want to be all scientifical :p
Good old GCSE science.
Jaz Delorean
10-06-2004, 12:43 AM
i must add i am not aiming at myself but being held against my will and being forced to drink increasing amounts of alchoholic substances. I have been trapped here since 6:30 last night and am looking for a method of escape which does not include breathing.
it's kinda amusing how everyone's just ignoring this guy...
does anyone know if he's still alive?
jaz
showmet
10-06-2004, 03:54 AM
it's kinda amusing how everyone's just ignoring this guy...
does anyone know if he's still alive?
jaz
Yeah he's alright ... I know him. He's just a bit of a nob.;)
Jaz Delorean
10-06-2004, 10:48 AM
ok cool thats alright then.
SharyBobbins
10-06-2004, 02:14 PM
Why is there so little oxygen in air? I really want to know. Why, as one of the most complicated forms of life on earth are we so dependent upon such an impure gas? And, if we have to be reliant on breathing, why is it that we rely on one of the lesser available elements in this gas. Surely we would be better off using something such as nitrogen, one of the more prevalant gases in air. In fact why do we need to breath? Why can't we just absorb ALL our necessary nutrients from our food, or better still just pick it up at birth?:eek:
Here's a question for you.
If there is so little oxygen then where do we get the oxygen to fill all of those tanks?
there isnt so little oxygen. 70% of the Earth is covered with water.
*scratches head confuzzedly*
well, water means H2O where O stands for an oxygen atom.
atom? water? air?
ow
i though i'd left science behind me...obviously not.....why was i born to be creative why can't i be brainful like everyone else!
it's not being brainful or brainless, it's what you choose to fill it with ;)
I am braindead though..I can't understand words and sentences yet I am a poet...I get dyslexic with music and yet I play it....
Canot make sense of what I do,.....prefer to create than to anaylse
Canot make sense of what I do,.....prefer to create than to anaylse
hmmm, quite ironic :)
Peppy
10-12-2004, 11:48 PM
it would be cool if there was a lickle bit more oxygen 'cause then everyone would get high. that confused me in biology though, something you need to live on but if you breath in at high concentrations it makes you high, only like light headed and dizzy but it would be good for all the smokers 'cause i don't think it gives you cancer but they could still have all the fun of the effects.
vBulletin® v3.7.0, Copyright ©2000-2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.