Lesson 6.02 Ozone

• Introduction
• Learn
• Try It
• Task

Introduction

Ozone is a very scarce and important molecule in earth's atmosphere. It is estimated that only 3 of every 10 million air molecules in earth's atmosphere is an ozone molecule. If all of the molecules in the earth's atmosphere were stacked together, they would equal the thickness of about three dimes.

Although there are not very many of these molecules, they serve a very important role in the atmosphere. In the last 30 years, ozone has been making headlines because of its decline in some areas of the atmosphere and its increase in others. Depending on where it is located in the atmosphere, it can be either a "good" or "bad" molecule.

In this lesson, you will learn how ozone is formed in the stratosphere and troposphere, its importance to living things on earth, how humans impact the ozone layer, and what humans can do to prevent its destruction.