Without air and the oxygen in air, very few life forms would manage to exist on planet Earth.
Air is a clear, odorless, colorless gas that is made up of a number of different gases, including nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and other small traces of other types of gases.
How Much Does Air Weigh?
You may not be able to see, smell, or touch air, but it does weigh something.
Air is a very light substance, and 1 cubic foot of air is estimated to weigh 0.0807 pounds.
How Much Does Oxygen Weigh?
20.95% of air is made up of oxygen, and this gas is more dense than air.
Oxygen weighs about 0.08307 pounds per cubic foot.
Interesting Facts About Air:
78% of air is made up of nitrogen, 21% is oxygen, and other gases make up the remaining 1%.
Air also contains approximately 1% water, as well as fine particles of dust, smoke, pollen, and fumes, and these particles are known as aerosols.
Every day, an average human breathes in more than 35 pounds of air!
Oxygen is the key component of air that keeps animals, including humans, alive. It is required by our lungs and blood and is converted into carbon dioxide and removed from the body.
Plant life, on the other hand, consumes carbon dioxide and releases oxygen into the air.
~ Fun Fact ~
Air is something we all take for granted. As well as allowing us to breath, air plays a huge role in protecting life on planet earth in different ways. It insulates the Earth so that we do not experience extremely hot or cold temperatures.Secondly, the ozone gas layer in our atmosphere reduces the strength of the sun’s rays that reach us.
Finally, even solid objects, such as meteoroids, are no match for the air in our atmosphere, which burns and breaks up these objects before they land on Earth!
Resources:
http://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae650.cfm