• Question: Will the earth's oxygen levels ever run out?!:-o

    Asked by w4lrus to Ben, Clare, Ezzy, Mario, Sam on 19 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Ben Smart

      Ben Smart answered on 19 Mar 2012:


      It’s unlikely because during the day oxygen is created by plants and some bacteria.

    • Photo: Clare Burrage

      Clare Burrage answered on 19 Mar 2012:


      Pure oxgen can be created and destroyed by chemical reactions. Humans turn oxygen into carbon dioxide by using up energy and plants turn carbon dioxide into oxygen by photosynthesis (there are some other chemical involved in these processes too). If there are two many people on the planet and not enough plants then the oxygen would run out.
      But we are a very very very long way from this, and probably we would run out of food first.

    • Photo: Elizabeth Pearson

      Elizabeth Pearson answered on 19 Mar 2012:


      Eventually one day (most likely billions of years from now) the atmosphere will all escape. But that’s going to take a very long time to happen.

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