Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-chemistry-course-of-the-year-3-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/paper-3/42/c/iii/solution
Past exam of the chemistry course of the year 3 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 3 42 c iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Using an isothermal atmosphere with the stated scale height gives and at . The water atmospheric mixing ratio then gives . Applying steady state to the short-lived electronically excited oxygen atom,Its HOx family source is . Balancing this with termination gives . Combining with the rapid partition, or solving both stationary radical equations including termination, givesConsequently the main catalytic odd-oxygen loss isThe Chapman cycle loss is , so the given HO cycle is about 2.35 times larger. Both rates count two odd-oxygen units per completed O-plus-O destruction event. The omitted correction is only about of the main HO loss. The family abundance divided by its source is about , explaining why its absolute stationary state is a stronger assumption than rapid OH/HO interconversion.
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