Assertion (A) : The amount of ozone in the atmosphere began to drop sharply in the 1980s.\ Reason (

Question

Assertion (A) : The amount of ozone in the atmosphere began to drop sharply in the 1980s.\ Reason (R) : The oxygen atoms combine with molecular oxygen to form ozone.\

Professor PC Thomas Classes · Answer

(b): Ozone at the higher levels of the atmosphere is a product of UV radiation acting on oxygen ( $\mathrm{O}_{2}$ ) molecule. The higher energy UV radiations split apart some molecular oxygen $\left(\mathrm{O}_{2}ight)$ into free oxygen $(\mathrm{O})$ atoms. These atoms then combine with the molecular oxygen to form ozone. The amount of ozone in the atmosphere began to drop sharply in the 1980s. This decrease has been linked to synthetic chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which are used as refrigerants and in fire extinguishers.\