Why there is nitrogen in the atmoshere
By achilles7
@achilles7 (1276)
India
October 9, 2006 6:46pm CST
nitrogen is an inert gas.It keeps the reaction rates slow. It acts a third body in reactiom medium.
2 responses
@restlessguy (812)
• India
11 Oct 06
Nitrogen is the major constituent of atmosphere.I learnt that when i was in my school.I dont know the exact reason why nitrogen is there in abundance.Maybe the GOOD GOD created it that way that the environment is suited for our life.
I like to beleive it that way.
@shalwani (760)
• Pakistan
8 Feb 07
Nitrogen is an essential part of amino acids and nucleic acids, both of which are essential to all life.
Molecular nitrogen in the atmosphere cannot be used directly by either plants or animals, and needs to be converted to other compounds, or "fixed," in order to be used by life. Precipitation often contains substantial quantities of ammonium and nitrate, both thought to be a result of nitrogen fixation by lightning and other atmospheric electric phenomena. However, because ammonium is preferentially retained by the forest canopy relative to atmospheric nitrate, most of the fixed nitrogen that reaches the soil surface under trees is in the form of nitrate. Soil nitrate is preferentially assimilated by tree roots relative to soil ammonium.
Specific bacteria (e.g. Rhizobium trifolium) possess nitrogenase enzymes which can fix atmospheric nitrogen (see nitrogen fixation) into a form (ammonium ion) which is chemically useful to higher organisms. This process requires a large amount of energy and anoxic conditions. Such bacteria may be free in the soil (e.g. azotobacter) but normally exist in a symbiotic relationship in the root nodules of leguminous plants (e.g. clover or the soya bean plant). Nitrogen fixating bacteria can be symbiotic with a number of unrelated plant species. Common examples are legumes, alders, lichens, casuarina, myrica, liverwort, and gunnera.
As part of the symbiotic relationship, the plant subsequently converts the ammonium ion to nitrogen oxides and amino acids to form proteins and other biologically useful molecules, such as alkaloids. In return for the usable (fixed) nitrogen, the plant secretes sugars to the symbiotic bacteria.
Some plants are able to assimilate nitrogen directly in the form of nitrates which may be present in soil from natural mineral deposits, artificial fertilizers, animal waste, or organic decay (as the product of bacteria, but not bacteria specifically associated with the plant). Nitrates absorbed in this fashion are converted to nitrites by the enzyme nitrate reductase, and then converted to ammonia by another enzyme called nitrite reductase.
Nitrogen compounds are basic building blocks in animal biology. Animals use nitrogen-containing amino acids from plant sources, as starting materials for all nitrogen-compound animal biochemistry, including the manufacture of proteins and nucleic acids. Some plant-feeding insects are so dependent on nitrogen in their diet, that varying the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied to a plant can affect the birth rate of the insects feeding on it...
Phew..... it sometimes helps being a chemistry student!!