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Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that accumulates in the atmosphere primarily from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. It traps heat and contributes significantly to global warming and climate change.

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are formed in combustion processes at high temperatures. They contribute to the formation of acid rain, tropospheric ozone and are involved in various photochemical reactions that affect atmospheric chemistry.

CFCs are synthetic compounds once commonly used in aerosols and refrigeration. In the atmosphere, UV light breaks them down, releasing chlorine atoms which catalytically destroy ozone molecules in the stratosphere, contributing to the ozone hole.

The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the transformations of nitrogen and nitrogen-containing compounds in nature. Atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by lightning or bacteria, used in ecosystems, and eventually returned to the atmosphere.

The hydroxyl radical is known as the 'atmospheric detergent' because it reacts with many pollutants and initiates their removal from the atmosphere. It is formed by the reaction of water vapor with excited oxygen atoms produced from ozone photolysis.

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas with a global warming potential many times that of CO2. It is emitted from natural processes and human activities such as livestock cultivation, rice farming, and fossil fuel extraction.

Ozone is formed in the atmosphere through a complex set of reactions involving nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of sunlight. Ozone in the stratosphere protects life by absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation, but near the ground, it forms smog and is a harmful pollutant.

VOCs are organic chemicals that easily vaporize at room temperature. They are emitted from certain solids or liquids and are involved in the formation of ozone and secondary organic aerosols in the atmosphere, impacting air quality and health.