Business Ethics

&
Corporate Governance

Name: Masoom
Raza
(09YUCMA024)
 1. Explain the terms:
a) Atmosphere b) Biosphere c) Troposphere
d) Lithosphere e) Stratosphere f) Hydrosphere

Solution:- 1] a) Atmosphere: An atmosphere (New Latin atmosphaera, created in the 17th century
from Greek [atmos] and [sphaira] "sphere") is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of
sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a
longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low. Some planets consist
mainly of various gases, but only their outer layer is their atmosphere. The atmospheres of the planets
Venus and Mars are primarily composed of carbon dioxide, with small quantities of nitrogen, argon,
oxygen and traces of other gases. The Earth's atmosphere consists, from the ground up, of the
troposphere ,stratosphere (which includes the ozone layer), mesosphere, thermosphere (which contains
the ionosphere), exosphere and also the magnetosphere.

Solution: - b) Biosphere: Biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be called the zone
of life on Earth, a closed (apart from solar and cosmic radiation) and self-regulating system. From the
broadest biophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all
living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere,
hydrosphere and atmosphere. The biosphere is postulated to have evolved, beginning through a process
of biogenesis or biopoesis, at least some 3.5 billion years ago.

Solution: - c) Troposphere: The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains
approximately 75% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of its water vapor and aerosols. The average depth
of the troposphere is approximately 17 km (11 mi) in the middle latitudes. It is deeper in the tropical
regions, up to 20 km (12 mi), and shallower near the poles, at 7 km (4.3 mi) in summer, and indistinct in
winter. The lowest part of the troposphere, where friction with the Earth's surface influences air flow, is
the planetary boundary layer. This layer is typically a few hundred meters to 2 km (1.2 mi) deep
depending on the landform and time of day. The border between the troposphere and stratosphere, called
the tropopause, is a temperature inversion. The word troposphere derives from the Greek: tropos for
"turning" or "mixing," reflecting the fact that turbulent mixing plays an important role in the troposphere's
structure and behavior. Most of the phenomena we associate with day-to-day weather occur in the
troposphere.
Solution: - d) Lithosphere: The lithosphere, from the Greek [lithos] for "rocky" [sphaira] is the
rigid outermost shell of a rocky planet. It comprises the crust and the portion of the upper mantle that
behaves elastically on time scales of thousands of years or greater. In the Earth, the lithosphere includes
the crust and the uppermost mantle, which constitute the hard and rigid outer layer of the Earth. The
lithosphere is underlain by the asthenosphere, the weaker, hotter, and deeper part of the upper mantle .

Solution: - e) Stratosphere: The stratosphere is the second major layer of Earth's

atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. It is stratified in temperature,
with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down. This is in contrast to the
troposphere near the Earth's surface, which is cooler higher up and warmer farther down. The
border of the troposphere and stratosphere, the tropopause, is marked by where this inversion
begins, which in terms of atmospheric thermodynamics is the equilibrium level. The stratosphere
is situated between about 10 km (6 miles) and 50 km (31 miles) altitude above the surface at
moderate latitudes, while at the poles it starts at about 8 km (5 miles) altitude.

Solution: - f) Hydrosphere: A hydrosphere (from Greek - hydor, "water" and sphaira,

"sphere") in physical geography describes the combined mass of water found on, under, and over
the surface of a planet. The total mass of the Earth's hydrosphere is about 1.4 × 1018 tonnes,
which is about 0.023% of the Earth's total mass. About 20 × 1012 tonnes of this is in the Earth's
atmosphere (the volume of one tonne of water is approximately 1 cubic metre). Approximately
71% of the Earth's surface, an area of some 361 million square kilometres (139.5 million square
miles), is covered by ocean. The average salinity of the Earth's oceans is about 35 grams of salt
per kilogram of sea water (35 ‰).

2. Explain briefly the terms:

 a) Ozone layer b) Greenhouse effect
b) Global warming d)Green house gas
e) Green house

Solution :- 2] a) Ozone layer: The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains
relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). This layer absorbs 97–99% of the Sun's high frequency
ultraviolet light, which is damaging to life on Earth. [1] It is mainly located in the lower portion of the
stratosphere from approximately 13 km to 40 km above Earth, though the thickness varies seasonally
and geographically. The ozone layer was discovered in 1913 by the French physicists Charles Fabry and
Henri Buisson. Its properties were explored in detail by the British meteorologist G. M. B. Dobson, who
developed a simple spectrophotometer that could be used to measure stratospheric ozone from the
ground. Between 1928 and 1958 Dobson established a worldwide network of ozone monitoring stations
which continues to operate today. The "Dobson unit", a convenient measure of the columnar density of
ozone overhead, is named in his honor.
 Solution : - b) Greenhouse effect: The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in
1824, first reliably experimented on by John Tyndall in 1858, and first reported quantitatively by Svante
Arrhenius in 1896. The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary
surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of
this re-radiation is back towards the surface, energy is transferred to the surface and the lower
atmosphere. As a result, the temperature there is higher than it would be if direct heating by solar
radiation were the only warming mechanism.

Solution: - c) Global warming: Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's
near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. According to the
2007 Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global
surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the 20th century. Most of the
observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century has been caused by increasing
concentrations of greenhouse gases, which result from human activity such as the burning of fossil fuel
and deforestation. Global dimming, a result of increasing concentrations of atmospheric aerosols that
block sunlight from reaching the surface, has partially countered the effects of warming induced by
greenhouse gases.

Solution: - d) Green house gas: A greenhouse gas (sometimes abbreviated GHG) is a gas in an
atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the
fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere
are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. In the Solar System, the
atmospheres of Venus, Mars, and Titan also contain gases that cause greenhouse effects. Greenhouse
gases greatly affect the temperature of the Earth; without them, Earth's surface would be on average
about 33 °C (59 °F) colder than at present.

Solution: - e) Green house: A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse) is a building where

plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings. A
miniature greenhouse is known as a cold frame. Greenhouses can be divided into glass
greenhouses and plastic greenhouses. The glass greenhouses are filled with equipment like
screening installations, heating, cooling, lighting and may be automatically controlled by a
computer.
 3. Explain the ‘Green house effect’ in the atmosphere and how does this lead to ‘global
warming’

Solution:- 3]. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the greatest contributor to global warming.
Current analysis shows that carbon dioxide levels have risen 25% since 1958 and are the highest
they have been in 160,000 years. This rise can be contributed mainly to an increase in burning of
fossil fuels and continued deforestation.