BGC quiz cards

Question 1

calcium carbonate

Answer 1

CaCO3

Question 2

bicarbonate

Answer 2

HCO3-

Question 3

carbonic acid

Answer 3

H2O + CO2 = H2CO3
(water and carbon make carbonic acid)

Question 4

carbonate

Answer 4

CO3(2-)

Question 5

ocean acidification

Answer 5

the oceans are becoming more acidic every year because they’re absorbing so much excess CO2

Question 6

carrying capacity

Answer 6

how many people our planet can support (food is a major variable)

Question 7

sequestrating CO2

Answer 7

“storing away” CO2 over decades to millions of years in rocks, oceans, fossil fuels, etc.

Question 8

carbon sources

Answer 8

wild fires, combustion of fossil fuels, orogenic uplift (mountain making) because it exposes carbonates to surface processes, acid rain (released pent-up carbon in rocks), decomposition, respiration, volcanism

Question 9

carbon sinks

Answer 9

biosphere, atmosphere, hydrocarbons (coal, oil, carbonate sedimentary rocks) ground litter, oceans

Question 10

tests

Answer 10

microscopic creatures (phytoplankton) whose shells are made up of calcium carbonate

Question 11

ocean acidification and calcium carbonate issue

Answer 11

carbonic acid dissolves calcium carbonate:

H2CO3 <=> HCO3- + H+

the H+s go and start synthesizing with CO3(2-), kicking Ca(2+) out, so its harder to form calcium carbonate

Question 12

ocean acidification issues

Answer 12

1. carbonic acid is decomposing into bicarbonates and hydrogens, the hydrogens then go and bond with carbonates, stealing them from calcium (so breaking apart calcium carbonate): this is bad because it weathers down test shells that are made of calcium carbonate
2. new tests cannot find the calcium carbonate needed to develop their shells

Question 13

coral bleaching

Answer 13

rising temperatures, turbidity, and sunscreen stress out coral reefs, driving them to essentially go into hibernation, getting rid of the algae that live on them (hence the removal of color)… if they stay in hibernation for too long, they die

Question 14

orogenic uplift

Answer 14

“mountain building”

Question 15

leaching

Answer 15

water seeping into the ground, taking salts, irons, minerals, etc. from the surface down with it (think of sponge with salt on top example)

Question 16

phosphorous short-term cycle

Answer 16

similar to nitrogen cycle, animals get their phosphorous from plants, then release it back into the environment when they die

Question 17

phosphorous long-term cycle

Answer 17

note: NOT a gas
similar to nitrogen cycle

Question 18

how do humans use phosphorus?

Answer 18

fertilizer, detergent
also P is a major food for plants
humans are removing up the long-term, sequestered C and P

Question 19

lagtime

Answer 19

the amount of time it takes for water to flow from a precipitation event to the nearest lake, creek, stream, etc.

Question 20

phosphorous significance in deforestation

Answer 20

1. cutting of flora in tropical areas w/ high productivity reduces P in soil
2. w/o root systems, the soils and nutrients are washed away by runoff
3. this leads to turbidity in the lakes the runoff pools into

Question 21

eutrophication (meaning “too much food”)

Answer 21

1. runoff water containing excess phosphates, nitrates, other plant food collects into ponds with algae
2. these algae blooms rapidly feed on the nutrients, growing quickly and soon covering the surface of the lake
3. sunlight to the bottom of the lake is blocked out, so subatomic vegetation (SAVs) die because they can’t photosynthesize
4. without SAVs, the water is not being oxygenated (hypoxic “lack of oxygen” conditions)
5. dead algae suck up oxygen as well
6. these things kill off animals in the water, such as fish (anoxic “no oxygen” conditions)

Question 22

biogeochemical cycle

Answer 22

~ earth is an open system w/ respect to energy, but a closed system w/ respect to matter
~ components that contain matter (air, organisms, water, etc.) are called “pools”
~ processes that move matter between pools are “flows”

Question 23

atmosphere composition

Answer 23

78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% Carbon & others

Question 24

Nitrogen importance

Answer 24

nitrogen is a major component for life-sustaining molecules:
~ proteins: structure of enzymes, cells, etc.
~ DNA/RNA
~ animo acids

Question 25

Nitrogen cycle

Answer 25

1. start with atmospheric nitrogen (N2) which is either split apart by lighting or mixed into the soils where nitrifying bacteria split it apart
2. nitrogenase enzymes converts N2 to ammonia (NH3):
   N2 + 3H2 + energy = 2NH3
3. ammonification: when ammonia reacts with water (through bacteria), it becomes ammonium:
   2NH3 + H20 = NH4+
4. erobic bacteria oxidize ammonia/ammonium (which can both be used by plants) into nitrite, NO2-, which is toxic for plants
5. aerobic bacteria oxidize the nitrite ions further into nitrate, NO3-, which plants can use
6. assimilation: plants take in nitrates, make proteins, molecules, etc.
7. denitrification: denitrifying bacteria convert nitrate back into nitrogen gas, N2, and put it back in the atmosphere

Question 26

nitrifying bacteria

Answer 26

~ usually aerobic (N and O)
~ found in most soils
~ take N2 and split it apart
~ found in legumes, roots filled with sacks of N-fixing bacteria called rhizobia

Question 27

legumes & rhizobia

Answer 27

Legumes (corn, soy beans, lentils, etc.) form a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria called rhizobia

Question 28

nitric oxide

Answer 28

chemical formula: NO
combine with water and you get acid rain

Question 29

nitrous oxide

Answer 29

chemical formula: N2O
~ is a greenhouse gas
~ destroying the ozone layer

Question 30

environmental concern: lack of N in soils

Answer 30

crops going through fields and after a couple seasons, nutrients have been sucked up or leached out