Question 7 (2 points) Which of the following is not a reason for the depletion o

Question

Question 7 (2 points) Which of the following is not a reason for the depletion of free hydrogen in Earth's lower atmosphere? Some hydrogen atoms have speeds greater than Earth's escape velocity and so they escape Earth's gravitational pull. Even those hydrogen atoms with speeds less than the Escape velocity eventually B) acquire enough Kinetic Energy to escape the Earth's pull, due to energy exchange during collisions events. C) All hydrogen atoms will have speeds greater than the escape velocity of Earth and so they escape Earth's gravitational pull O D) Hydrogen being the lightest element buoys to the upper most layer of Earth's atmosphere and leaks out.

Explanation / Answer

Ans::

Answer is option 'C'

i.e "All hydrogen atoms will have speeds greater than the escape velocity of earth and so they escape earth's gravitiona;l pull".

At 1000 K, hydrogen atoms have an average speed of 5 km/sec, which is below Earth’s escape velocity of 10.8 km/sec at the exobase. Yet hydrogen atoms still manage to escape because MANY move faster than average. This loss of particles from the energetic tail of the speed distribution is called “Jeans’ escape”.

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