Carbon dioxide

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Stuctural formula of carbon dioxide. C is carbon and O is oxygen. The double lines repsent the double chemical bond between the atoms.

A picture to show simply how the atoms may fill space. The black is carbon and the red is oxygen.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a gas. It is made of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. We make carbon dioxide when we breathe out. Also, every time something organic is burnt (or a fire is made), it makes carbon dioxide. Plants use carbon dioxide to make food. This gas can also kill and harm many living things.

The big problem with carbon dioxide is that it counts as one of the greenhouse gases. Such gases change the climate and weather on our planet Earth. Overall, this climate change causes global warming, but it can also make winters much longer and colder in some areas.

[edit] Dry ice

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Dry ice, or solid carbon dioxide, is the solid state of CO₂ gas below -109.3°F or -78.5°C. Dry ice does not occur naturally on earth but is man made. It is colorless. Common uses include, but are not limited to: carbonating drinks, killing gophers, and freezing warts. The vapor of dry ice, carbon-dioxide, causes suffocation and subsequent death. Caution and professional assistance is recommended whenever dry ice is in use.

Dry ice when put in water

It will not melt from a solid to a liquid but sublimes (evaporates) directly to gas. It will change directly from a solid to a gas at any temperature higher than these very low temperatures, such as normal air temperature. The vapor of dry ice, carbon-dioxide, causes suffocation and then death. Dry ice exposed to normal air gives off carbon dioxide gas that is odourless and colourless.

The gas is so cold that when it mixes with air it cools the water vapour in the air to fog, which looks like a thick white smoke. It is often used in the theatre to create the appearance of fog or smoke.

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