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___ is the second largest component of air, constituting almost $21\% $ volume of air?

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Last updated date: 07th Sep 2024
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Answer
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Hint:The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, generally known as air, that surrounds the planet Earth and forms its planetary atmosphere, and is held in place by gravity. The atmosphere of Earth preserves life on Earth by providing pressure on the surface that allows liquid water to exist, absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and decreasing temperature extremes between day and night (the diurnal temperature variation).

Complete step-by-step solution:
Dry air is composed of \[78.09{\text{ \% }}\]nitrogen, \[20.95{\text{ \% }}\]oxygen, \[0.93{\text{ \% }}\]argon, \[0.04\,\% \]carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases by volume. Water vapour is also present in air, with an average concentration of roughly \[1\% \]at sea level and \[0.4{\text{ \% }}\]throughout the atmosphere. Air composition, temperature, and atmospheric pressure change with height, and only the troposphere and artificial atmospheres contain air appropriate for photosynthesis by terrestrial plants and breathing by terrestrial animals.
Oxygen is the second-largest component of air, accounting for over \[21\% \] of its volume. In dry air, nitrogen and oxygen make up \[99{\text{ \% }}\]of the gases, with argon, carbon dioxide, helium, neon, and other gases accounting for the remaining \[1\% .\]

Note:Atmospheric science (aerology) is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its processes, and it covers several subfields such as climatology and atmospheric physics. Léon Teisserenc de Bort and Richard Assmann were early pioneers in the field. Paleoclimatology is the study of the past atmosphere.