Question

Ozone, a pollutant or a gas to protect us? We have known that the ozone layer absorbs (slides 12 to 16) most of the sun's ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to life on earth. At the same time, we have heard that ozone pollution (slides 25-28) is pretty significant in urban areas like l.A. So ozone is good or bad? Elaborate your answers by using what you've learned so far.

Answer 1

Ozone is good when it is in the stratosphere but bad when in the troposphere (where the weather system occurs). When in the stratosphere it help absorbs UV light from sunlight before reaching earth surface. This prevents damage to the genetic material of living organisms.

When in the troposphere, it is considered a pollutant and causes irritation of the lungs when inhaled. It also affects vegetation by reducing crop growth and yield.