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why ozone molecule is high in atmosphere even having greater molecular weight than oxygen

why ozone molecule is high  in atmosphere even having greater molecular weight than oxygen

Grade:12

1 Answers

suryakanth AskiitiansExpert-IITB
105 Points
13 years ago

Dear sachin,

The highest levels of ozone in the atmosphere are in the stratosphere, in a region also known as the ozone layer between about 10 km and 50 km above the surface (or between about 6 and 31 miles). Here it filters out photons with shorter wavelengths (less than 320 nm) of ultraviolet light, also called UV rays, (270 to 400 nm) from the Sun that would be harmful to most forms of life in large doses.

Ozone in the stratosphere is mostly produced from ultraviolet rays reacting with oxygen:

O2 + photon (radiation < 240 nm) → 2 O
O + O2 → O3

It is destroyed by the reaction with atomic oxygen:

O3 + O → 2 O2

The latter reaction is catalysed by the presence of certain free radicals, of which the most important are hydroxyl (OH), nitric oxide (NO) and atomic chlorine (Cl) and bromine (Br)

So the OZONE is just present as free radicals and not as stable O3.These reactions goin on continously.

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All the best.

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Suryakanth –IITB

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