Question

Which of the following is not a greenhouse gas?
A. Carbon dioxide
B. Sulphur dioxide
C. Methane
D. Nitrogen

Answer 1

Greenhouse gases are those gases which trap the radiation and do not allow the heat to leave. From the following gases the gas which is not a greenhouse gas is colorless and has no smell and does not give any change when treated with moist litmus paper that means it is neutral.

Complete answer:
Greenhouse gases are those gases which have the property of absorbing net heat energy (infrared radiation) which are emitted from the surface of earth and reradiating it back to the surface of earth and due to this trapping of heat they causes greenhouse effect. According to the recorded data given by Kyoto protocol, there are six major main gases which are responsible for greenhouse effect causes greenhouse gases are:
1. Carbon dioxide
2. Methane
3. Nitrous oxide
4. Hydrofluorocarbons
5. Perfluorocarbons
6. Sulphur hexafluoride
Dinitrogen is the only gas from the given option which is not a greenhouse gas. Dinitrogen is not a greenhouse gas because it is transparent to infrared radiation and can not trap the heat.

Additional Information:
Application of nitrogen:
1. It is used in place of argon in incandescent bulbs.
2. It is used in food packages to keep the food fresh or we can say to preserve them.
3. It is used in the manufacture of stainless steel.
4. To reduce fire hazard it is used in aircraft fuel systems.
5. Liquid nitrogen is widely used in vacuum pump systems.
Liquid nitrogen is a cryogenic liquid. When it is insulated in proper containers like Dewar flasks, it can be transported without much evaporative loss.

So, option D is correct.

Note: Role of water vapor in greenhouse effect are Water vapor is responsible majorly for greenhouse effect, between $36\%$ and $66\%$ for clear sky and between $66\%$ and $85\%$ for cloudy sky. The activity which increases global temperature results in increase in water vapor concentration and this process is known as water vapor feedback.