what are gases, where do we get them from and what is the difference between inert, natural etc?

Question

ie, what is hydrogen, helium, oxygen, nitrogen and the rest, where do we find them and how do we use them? Why do they act the way they do when they're heated up and cooled down? How on earth can you have a liquid gas?? surely a contradiction in terms? what would happen if you drank liquid oxygen? or the others for that matter

erm, actually Im 35 and not asking for 'schooling' purposes. I saw a programme last night about this but it raised more questions that it answered

Answer 1

Do you really think all these questions can be answered on here. You are talking about a text book. And I don't believe you are so stupid as not to know that.

EDIT:- Biggest thumbs down ever to the people below who have tried to answer this question, even if only trying to answer a little part of it. Read the question again. This is someone who is asking for the difference between inert and natural, does not even know the difference between combustability and source. Now read your answers again and then tell me how you expect anybody who does now know the difference between combustability and source could possibly have any idea what you are talking about.

Edit again: I give a thumbs down to anybody using Wiki as a source. I keep telling you that Wiki info is posted by people just like the people who answer question on YA. When I was in Australia there was a huge campaign on the radio for people to write a whole load of junk and post it on Wiki, Millions did, just like I did. People still to this day read it and believe it to be factual. Yes a lot of stuff is good but you never know which is good. Wiki were supposed to change their whole system recently because they know it is full of cr.p. I don't think it happened though

Answer 2

Too many questions at once. A gas is a state of matter where the atoms or particles occupy large volumes. Intermolecular forces are weak (unlike water which is of similar size but hydrogen bonding is strong) so they can escape each other. Nitrogen and oxygen make up the majority of the atmosphere 78% nitrogen 21% oxygen. Hydrogen can be synthesised by electrolisis of water. Natural gas is a name for the gas found above oil in an oil field. It is mainly methane but has a few other gases in it. Inert gases do not react, helium and other noble gases and nitrogen. Noble gases are single atoms due to a full valence of electrons and another reason there mostly unreactive (some are reactive in certain conditions). Nitrogen can be consider unreactive because of it's strong triple bond but does coordinate to certain metal centres in complexes and is involved in the born haber process (ammonia). A liquid gas is a substance which at room temp is a gas but has been cooled to a liquid. It is just extra imformation on the substance. Physics uses similar equations to describe liquids and gases since the motion of the particles are not to much different. To describe the motion of the gas in the sun fluid dynamics are used. If you drank a liquid gas you would feel very cold as it will take your heat. This will lead to frost bite and probably death.

Answer 3

Three ordinary states of matter.Solids which have fixed shape and volume at a given temperature,liquids which have fixed volume but can take any shape at given temperature and gases which will expand to any volume and shape.Good example is water which is solid(ice)below 0deg C.is liquid between )deg and 100deg.C(at normal pressure)and a gas above 100deg.C.(at normal pressure).
Oxygen and hydrogen are chemically joined together as water,nitrogen is the gas which together with oxygen makes up about 98% of the air we breathe,all the inert gases make up the rest of the earhs atmosphere,the min one being argon.
Most elemnts can exist as solids liquids or gases if the temperature and pressure are right.
They act the way they do because all substances are made of super tiny things called atoms which store some of their energy as high speed movement so when they are very cold they can rest together,as the get hotter they push against each other annd at a crtain temp they will lve independently;this is the gas stage.So I hopeyou can now see that if you push the gas atoms together so they can't fly apart then you can often force them to become a liquid above their normal boiling point.
Inert gases are those which are unable to join others under ordinary circumstances.
Natural gas is just a name for a mixture of fuel gases from oil or gas wells;they arise from the microscopic plants,bacteria and animals which died millions of years ago and whose chemical remains have turned into hydrocarbon chemicals,some liquid some gas.
I know its a lot to take in(a lot to type as well) but if your interested enough to ask what else can I do?
I suggest you print this rather than read onscreen.Good Luck

Answer 4

You have asked too many things in one question and got all appropriate but not so useful answers. I will answer a couple of the points raised by you. Pl. consider posting short and simple questions on one or two points.

Gases are the third state of matter. Solids, liquids and gases. Gases can be elements (like hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen etc.) or comounds (like steam, ammonia) or mixtures (air is a good example).

Hydrogen is a very reactive gas and is thus not available freely on earth but is abundantly available in the chemical compounds (water is H2O). Oxygen and Nitrogen together make up most of the air which we breathe.

Gas becomes liquid when we cool it and compress it. It is not liquid gas, but liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen etc. that we are talking of.

Liquid oxygen will cause you burns if you touch it. So, be careful.

You are daily drinking water which is the liquid form of steam and so be happy with that.

Answer 5

Yes, too much to answer in a simple way but have a look at the periodic table such as http://www.webelements.com/ and see how elements vary from the lightest hydrogen and helium up to the heaviest ununoctium. Generally speaking you find the gases (at ambient temperature and pressure) towards she "light" end of the table and to the right hand side of the table. To study more, google "supercritical fluid" and see how some gases such as CO2 become neither gas nor liquid under certain conditions and have very special properties.

Answer 6

Wow!

You seem to want to cover the whole course in one answer.

I suggest you read the recommended books for your course/subject.

Answer 7

Sorry sista friend, gotta do your own homework. We didn't have the internet much when I was in High School/ College, so if i had to do my own so do you...

Answer 8

wikipedia is the website for you!