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If hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water. The earth's surface is mostly water.?

Then why isn't there more hydrogen in our atmosphere?

10 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Hydrogen gas is so light that if it is ever naturally free, it zips straight to the upper atmosphere and out into space.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Two reasons. Firstly, almost all of the hydrogen is combined with oxygen to make the water. Secondly, hydrogen is light enough to escape from the earth's atmosphere. Water, which is the lightest constituent of the atmosphere other than hydrogen, has only a third of the molecular velocity, so tends to stick around, as do all of the heavier constituents.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Cuz water is completely diffrent from hydrogen. We would only have more hydrogen if all the water in the world was re-split into hydrogen and oxygen

    Source(s): skool!!!
  • 1 decade ago

    Because very, very little hydrogen or oxygen is in our atmosphere from broken water molecules. Liquid water evaporates to gaseous water. Water vapor condenses to liquid water. It's a natural cycle. The water molecule is very strong, thanks to hydrogen bonding. In fact, the hydrogns are so tightly bound, their nuclei are easily within the oxygen atom's electron cloud and the molecules can often be regarded like hard spheres.

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    When two H2 batchelorette molecules bump into one O2 batchelor molecule, it's love at first bump. They switch partners and form two water molecules. It's two matches made in the Islamic polygamous tradition, and all the parties to the union live happy ever after. And try as they may, the monogamous Christians can't drag them apart. So nearly all the H2 and O2 in the atmosphere have disappeared into the oceans, and that's where they plan to stay.

  • 1 decade ago

    Because Oxygen LOVES to hook up with the stuff- and keep it "grounded"- as water on the Earth's Surface. -A good thing, too, as I don't think we'd last very long with less water & even LESS Oxygen to breathe!

  • 1 decade ago

    Water is not readily decomposed to oxygen and hydrogen.

  • eric l
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago

    We had more oxygen than hydrogen when water formed.

  • jason
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago

    Yes

  • 1 decade ago

    ask ur chem teacher..

    tho i think its because most hydrogen is in the sky..so there's actually ALOT...

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